One Good Reason
by Krillin Fan
Summary: Krillin had a hard life , and the loss of his best friend seems to be pushing him toward the edge. Can his wounded heart be healed by another, or is it already too late? K18, slight KCC, later VidelGohan, too.
1. Chapter 1

-1**One Good Reason**

_Hi. I guess I should introduce myself. My name is DJ, but I go by Krillin Fan, for obvious reasons. This is my first fanfic, so sorry if it sucks. It's an idea that's been rolling around in my head for, well, a few years now, and I'm just now posting this. Why, you ask? Because I only discovered fan fiction even existed in January of this year. So, here goes, I guess._

Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon Ball Z, or any related characters.

**Chapter 1**

A young man sat alone on the shore of a small island, the sun slowly sinking below the horizon before him. He often came out here to think, as well as get away from the people he lived with. Not that he hated them, or anything…sometimes he just needed to be alone. And on Kame Island, that was no small task.

Lately though, that need had been growing. Ever since the day that his best friend had died. The day he saw an innocent young boy have his soul marred with hatred beyond reason.

The last day he would ever see HER.

Or so it had seemed so far anyway. That day, she had left without so much as a good-bye. Left without any indication as to whether or not he would ever see her again. This was nothing new, every girl he had ever known, other than Bulma or Chi Chi had been like that. But this was different.

He loved her. He had fought for her, albeit in vain. Tried to protect her. Nearly doomed a planet for her, and, to his mind, he had killed his best friend, his BROTHER, for her. And still, she left.

_I guess I should be used to this by now, _he thought. _But still, I wish I could see her again. Then again…_ He chanced a look at his reflection in the water.

_What would she see in a guy like me?_

Although no one would say it to his face, with the exception of a certain Saiyan prince, he knew what everyone thought, what they said when they thought he wasn't close enough to hear. He had heard the terms they used.

Ugly. Deformed. Hideous. And then, there was Vegeta's favorite new name for him. Freak. That's what people thought when they saw him. He was a freak. No normal person looked like him. Normal people weren't this short. Normal people had a nose. He didn't

For the longest time, he had wanted a family, almost since he could remember; a wife, children, people who could love him in spite of his shortcomings. It was all he dreamed of at the Temple, especially when he would go to bed after his nightly beating… among other things. When he ran, he thought his dream would come true, that he could have a family. He even spent months trying to track down his parents. Mistake number one.

After that disaster, he had decided that he should try talking to some of the local kids; maybe he could make some friends, even meet a cute girl, one that he could marry someday. Mistake number two. The girls had all thought he was a freak, and the boys, they had teased him, laughed had him, beaten him… well, tried to anyway. One of them had managed to sting him pretty badly, though _"Kid", _he had said, _"the only way you'll get a girl is if you manage to dupe some unfortunate blind girl, and I'd feel sorry for her."_

The man took another look at his reflection and, scowling, threw a rock right into the center of it.

It wasn't his fault he looked like this. It wasn't his fault that his parents had…

He was jerked out of his thoughts by Oolong, calling him from the doorway of the small house.

"Hey, Krillin, dinner's ready. You better get in here before the old man eats it all, and he will!"

Krillin stood up, and with a sigh, dusted of his pants as he headed indoors.

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_So, how was that for a first chapter? I know it was short, but this is just a setup for the rest. And, yes, it was depressing, but think about it. How would you feel in his shoes? Anyways, reviews are helpful, and much desired. Thanks!_


	2. Chapter 2

-1**One Good Reason**

Disclaimer: I do not own DBZ or any related characters.

**Chapter 2**

Krillin sat down at the table and looked across to his former sensei. He couldn't help but smile at the old man; he was already stuffing his face like there was no tomorrow, shoveling everything he could onto his plate, and from there, into his mouth. And people wondered where Goku got his table manners?

At the thought of Goku, Krillin sighed again. His friend, the only one who never really teased him. If anything, he had made Krillin's deformity seem like a good thing, he helped him to see beyond it. He remembered one time in particular…

_It was the end of another long day of training, and Krillin couldn't have been happier to see it. He and Goku had been training under Master Roshi for over a month now, and frankly, the old man's regime was exhausting. He was glad that he had a new friend to go through it with, though. Goku always seemed to make him feel better._

_They were just about to go to bed early, when Roshi called them into the living room._

_"Boys, I hate to beak it to ya, but we're out of food. I nee-"_

_"WHAT?!" Goku looked on the verge of tears "But that means we can't eat! I'm starving!"_

_"Calm down and listen, boy. I need you two to-"_

_"I WANT FOOD! I WANT FOOD! IWANT-"_

_Krillin couldn't take it anymore. "Would you SHUT UP so sensei can finish? Sheesh, you ate like five minutes ago, you aren't gonna die!" He turned to Roshi. "Now what did you want, Master?"_

_"As I was saying, I need you boys to go to the mainland and get some food and other things we need. Here's a list, bring back everything on it. Tell the clerk to put it on Roshi's tab, he'll know what you mean."_

_Krillin took the list, and his eyes half popped out of his head. "MASTER! We can't get you THOSE! We're too young to buy 'em!"_

_"Fine, skip the magazines, but bring everything else. And Goku, if you touch so much as one thing before you get back, you get worked twice as hard, understand?"_

_"Aww…" Goku looked down at his growling stomach. 'Just wait', he told it mentally. "Yes, Master."_

_"Good, now run along. And take your time," he added with a grin. "My favorite show is coming on."_

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_The boat trip from the island was uneventful. The two boys talked about their training, what the mainland would be like after being on an island for a month, and about their master's… taste in entertainment. Goku said he couldn't understand what was so interesting about seeing girls bend over on the T.V., and Krillin tried his best to explain, although he himself didn't understand. To his mind, what was the point in seeing if you couldn't touch, and more to the point, what was the reason to touch if it was meaningless? It was too confusing to his young mind._

_They soon arrived at the store, and after pulling Goku off at least a dozen shelves, they made their purchase and headed back to the docks. On the way however…_

_"Hey, guys, look at that little freak!"_

_Krillin stopped dead in his tracks and turned around. There, following close behind, was a group of older kids, probably in their mid-teens. And they didn't look friendly._

_One of them walked up to Krillin. "Hey freak, what happened. Your mommy O.D. while she was pregnant? Or maybe she was screwin' around with a turtle."_

_Krillin started to tense up, ready to fight, but stopped himself. 'Just calm down Krillin,' he told himself. 'Don't waste your time on a jerk like him.'_

_The boy reached around and smacked Krillin on the back of his head. "Hey, freak boy, I'm talkin' to you." He grabbed Krillin by his shirt. "I wonder, why didn't your momma do the world a favor and get rid of a little freak like you?"_

_Krillin looked at the other kids, who by this time, had formed a small circle around the three boys. They were laughing. At him. He couldn't hold back anymore. He cried._

_"Aww, what's the matter, little freak gonna cry. Why don't you- HEY!"_

_The bully found himself being lifted off the ground. He looked down to see a very ticked-off Goku holding him there._

_"Leave.Him.ALONE!" he yelled, and threw the kid into the water. When the others saw this, they ran as fast as they could._

_Goku turned to look at a still crying Krillin. "C'mon Krillin, lets go home."_

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_On the boat ride back they were silent for a while, the only sound being the occasional sniffle from Krillin. Goku felt like he should say something, but wasn't sure what. Grandpa Gohan always said words weren't his 'strong suit', whatever that meant. After a while, he said "Don't let them bother you, Krillin. They were just bullies. You aren't a freak-"_

_Krillin snapped his head toward Goku. "OH YEAH?", he shouted. "Then what am I?"_

_Goku stopped and scratched his head for a while. Finally, he turned to Krillin, a big goofy smile plastered on his face. "You're Krillin, silly. And you're my best friend."_

_Krillin couldn't help but smile at his friend. "Thanks," he finally managed to choke out._

_Goku's mind immediately shifted topics, however. "I hope we get home soon, I'm starving!"  
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"Hello, earth to Krillin. Wake up!"

Krillin was pulled out of his daydream by the sight of Oolong waving his hand in front of his face.

"I mean it, if you don't wake up, I'm gonna eat your food."

Krillin handed him his plate. "Knock yourself out," he said. He pushed his chair away from the table, and stood up. "I think I'll head upstairs now. Goodnight, Oolong, Master." As he started up the stairs, he heard Roshi's voice call to him.

"Krillin, could I talk to you outside first, please?"

Krillin jumped off the steps and headed out the door. He was greeted by master Roshi, sitting in his beach chair. He dreaded the conversation he knew would come next.

"Krillin, you can't stay cooped up forever, son. And before you even start, yes you have been isolating yourself. Look, it's not even fully dark out and you're going to bed, you never even call the others anymore, and you barely even talk to me anymore.

"Well, maybe it's because I don't want to talk to some perverted old man." Krillin instantly regretted those words. Even though his former teacher always wore those dark glasses, he could almost see the hurt in his eyes. "I'm sorry, Master, I didn't mean that. I guess I'm just tired." Krillin sighed again.

"Look, I'll think about visting the others tomorrow, but I'm too tired tonight. I'm going to bed." He then turned to head back inside.

"I miss him too, son."

Krillin turned around, and looked at his master. How did he know?

"We all miss Goku. But you and I know, he wouldn't have had it any other way. It was the boy's nature to do that sort of thing-"

"It shouldn't have been him," Krillin cut off. "It was my responsibility. I… let her go. If I'd pushed that stupid button, none of this would've happened. I killed him. I acted on an emotion, and in the process, I killed my best friend, someone's husband and father, for a woman who can't feel the same for me. He soldn't have died."

"It should've been ME!"

With that, Krillin ran back into the house, leaving Roshi alone on the beach. The old man shook his head. _'I hope you overcome this unnecessary burden, my son,' _he thought to himself.

_'Before it destroys you.'_

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Krillin stormed up the stairs and into his room, slamming the door behind him. He laid down on his bed, which consisted of a mattress on the floor, and started to sob into his pillow.

'_It should've been you! It should've been YOU!'_

That voice was back. That same voice from his childhood. It had always been there, but had gotten worse since that day. The words themselves didn't, pain him, the real pain was from the two people that had spoken them; one from the distant past, one from only a month ago.

_'It shouldn't have been my Goku! It should've been YOU!!'_

"I'm sorry, Chi," he whispered into his pillow. "It should've been me."

And, as he had every other night for a month, he cried himself to sleep.

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_So, what'd you think? Please let me know!_


	3. Chapter 3

-1**One Good Reason**

_Wow, only three reviews? Are you people not liking this or something, do you want me to drop it? Well, if you do, come here, I gotta secret for ya… I DON'T CARE! I happen to like this story, and happen to think that this is how everyone would react to Goku's death, and I'm gonna see this thing through to the end. And if you refuse to read without 18, then don't worry, she's coming, maybe this chapter, maybe the next… I'll just have to see where this story takes me. Now, on with my story, provided my dog stops nudging me…_

**Chapter 3**

Bulma's day started like any other. Her alarm went off, she took a shower, got dressed, fought with Vegeta, went downstairs, made breakfast, changed baby Trunks' diaper, Fought with Vegeta, tried to get some family time in before she had to go to work, resisted the now strong urge to kill Vegeta at his revelation that he broke the G.R. _again,_ talked to one of the employees about some new project design, and fought with Vegeta.

Did I mention fought with Vegeta?

Bulma sighed as she gathered up her tools. Fixing that stupid room almost every three days had been bad enough, but lately, Vegeta had been acting strangely, like he was… somewhere else, all the time. He'd have mood swings, some days cold and indifferent, as usual, some days strangely affectionate, as was demonstrated when he'd actually feed his own son, some days he'd just freeze up, like he wasn't in his own body. And then there were days like today. Days where, he'd become violent, unpredictable, looking to pick a fight anywhere he could, going on and on about how his right, his DESTINY, had been stripped away from him.

He'd been this way since Goku died.

Bulma sighed again. Everyone had taken it pretty hard, once the initial shock had worn off anyway. Vegeta's mood swings, Yamacha's drinking problem, albeit a short-lived one, and Bulma half suspected that was why Tien had run off, too. Piccolo, well, he showed less emotion than Vegeta, God only knew what was going through his head. But the two that were taking this the hardest were Chi-Chi and Krillin.

Chi-Chi could hardly be blamed, of course. She'd found out that Goku wasn't coming back, that was hard enough. But then, to find out she was pregnant, that was the breaking point. It only got worse after the mood swings came- she'd be fine one minute, crying the next, then extremely angry the next. She'd even half gone after Vegeta, even blaming him for Goku's death. Bulma was just thankful that she'd caught him in one of his more docile moods; otherwise there was no telling what might have happened. But then, Krillin had shown up. And that's when things got bad…

Bulma was pulled out of her thoughts by Vegeta entering the room, a look of pure disgust on his face. She growled at him when he stopped to look at her, and a fierce staring contest ensued.

Vegeta finally broke the silence. "You're getting lazy woman! You still haven't even started fixing that blasted room yet!"

Bulma half-shouted when she replied, "Well, maybe if you weren't such a jerk, I'd have gotten to it sooner! But instead, you have to walk around with your head so far up your rear that it pops back out again!"

Vegeta smirked at her. "That's the best insult you can come up with? Pitiful." His smirk turned back into a scowl. "Besides, if you would actually make something worthy of the Prince of all Saiyans, it wouldn't need fixing, would it?"

"Ha! Some prince! An 11 year-old boy could take you down in a heartbeat!"

Vegeta's hands began balling into fists, his eyes even colder than usual. "You push your luck, woman. Try it again, and I won't be so merciful." With that he stomped out of the room, mumbling something about women learning their place.

He needed something to take his mind off that woman and her attitude, the question was what? There was no place to train that was worthy of someone like him; a prince needs a proper training ground, after all. And no one to fight. Well, no one that wouldn't hurt his already damaged pride even more, anyway. He decided to take a short walk through the back yard. And thought back to that day.

'Kakarot,' he seethed mentally, how could you do that? That was my right, MY DESTINY, and you… STOLE IT FROM ME!!' He threw his head back and screamed to the sky, "YOU COWARD!! TOO AFRAID TO FACE ME, IS THAT IT?"

He started to think back, back to the time they'd first fought, and how evenly matched they'd been. Back to the time on Namek, when he'd once again had his destiny stolen from him when that low-class fool had become a Super Saiyan. Back to when he first achieved his transformation, only to be humiliated by a girl…

That girl. That… Android!

Vegeta smiled to himself. 'Looks like I just found something to do,' he thought with a chuckle, and slowly started to lift off into the air.

Bulma heard Vegeta scream, and stopped her welding. 'If he keeps this up, he'll wake the baby,' she thought as she climbed out of the gravity room's access hatch. Taking off her gloves, she stomped out of the room and into the backyard.

"Vegeta," she called, "stop your screaming right now or I swear, you're taking care of…" She saw him start to lift off into the air.

"Where do you think you're going? Hey, I asked…" she trailed off. Vegeta gave her a look she hadn't seen on his face for nearly a year; that insane look of a predator stalking its prey.

He answered with a smirk and one single word before blasting off.

"Hunting."

_Well, what'd you think? I know it's short, but I felt that it was necessary, considering that the next chapter is going to have drama galore: 18's gonna be looking for Krillin, for reasons as yet unknown, and maybe you'll find out what happened with Chi-Chi and Krillin. Anyhow, I'd like to thank **troubles, Tomboy 601, **and **PegasusJF **for being the only ones to review so far, and here's your update! See ya next chapter!_


	4. Chapter 4

-1**One Good Reason**

_Okay, now that I feel I can write without crying into my keyboard, I can update. I just finished a story, where Krillin and 18 were supposed to be paired up, though with a weird on again/ off again relationship, she dumps him based on a stinkin' rumor, one of Krillin's best friends tells him not to worry, she always takes him back, and to wait for her to come to him; then, he moves in on her, and takes her. For those of you who know me, tose stories are my pet peeve, I don't know why no one wants to see those two happy, yet if someone were to have Bulma and Vegeta break up like that, they'd scream bloody murder! In all honesty, of all the DBZ guys, Krillin is actually the only one whose really husband and father material, but again, he doesn't "look good enough to be with her"! I'm rambling again, but that ticks me off!_

_Well… the votes are in! All three of 'em. Kind of disappointing, really. I'd hoped for more. But, since there was a two to two vote, counting what I finally voted, I've decided to include both! Aren't I clever! SO, here goes the somewhat anticipated chapter 4! And also, thanks to my reviewers, what a rabidly loyal lot you are._

**Chapter 4**

The sun stood high in the sky over Kame Island, and a gentle breeze blew through the trees. Krillin looked out his window, debating whether or not to go visit anyone today. It had been almost a week since his little outburst, and that had given him time to think. A fact that could be just as much a curse as a gift.

He ran his hand through his very short hair, which he'd been letting grow for nearly a month now. He figured, why bother shaving it? He wasn't exactly a monk anymore, and as far as he was concerned, his fighting days were over. He'd also stopped wearing his gi, even for the rare times he went out to train, though that was mostly to keep in shape now; he'd long since given up trying to get stronger. It was never enough, so what was the point? Though he was a bit curious as to where he stood compared to the others, seeing as how he'd never tested his full power.

'_Well,'_ he thought, '_guess I'd at least better get outa bed. Besides, it's my training day anyway.' _He jumped out of bed and pulled on his newest choice of clothing, sweatpants and a T- shirt, and walked downstairs.

He was surprised to find the house empty. It seemed Roshi and Oolong had decided to go somewhere today, though he shuddered at the possibility of what those two were up to. He walked into the kitchen, poured himself a glass of juice, and sat down at the old table in the middle of the room. He happened to look down and see a note.

_Krillin:_

_Oolong and I went to the 'movies'. Should be back by ten. Don't have too much fun without us!_

_Roshi_

Krillin wadded the note up and threw it in the trash. What wads the point of going to those type of movies anyway? To sit there and stare at the unattainable? To dream of nothing but meaningless sex?

Pathetic.

He went over to the door and grabbed his shoes, but decided not to put them on until he was already in the air. He tended to get sand in them otherwise. Ironic as it may be, since he lived on an island, it was one of his pet peeves.

And the last thing he needed right now was more irritation.

In another part of the world, the sum was just coming up, the final sounds of the nocturnal creatures mingling with the first sounds of the creatures of the daylight. Light was just beginning to penetrate the trees, as a single figure walked among them, her brain wracked with questions to which she had no answers.

As she contemplated, she tucked a strand of blonde hair back behind her ear, an unconscious gesture of thought. She seemed to think a lot these days. About her brother, who seemingly had not wanted anything to do with her anymore… seemingly nothing! He'd kicked right out of the cabin they'd been staying in that very morning, something about her being too boring and bringing him down.

But also, she thought about Krillin. About why he'd helped her, why he'd bothered to try to save her when he clearly stood no chance. Why he'd made that wish, especially when he'd thought she and her brother were -and here she wrinkled up her nose out of disgust- 'a cute couple'. That was almost laughable. It was foolish. It was… nice of him. She'd even told him so.

_'Maybe I should go see him again, at least let him know I do appreciate what he did for me. I owe him that much .But ONLY that much. Then again, if I go see him, he might get the wrong idea, and…' _She growled to herself in frustration. She was unsure of what she should do. Besides, she didn't want to risk running into any of his other friends.

Especially not Vegeta. God only knew what he'd do if he found her. And after how much stronger he'd gotten, she was sure he'd kill her. Best to avoid that confrontation. For now.

But even so, a part of her almost seemed to wish it would happen. She doubted she'd ever die naturally, and with no knowledge of her past, and her only link to that past, her only family wanting nothing to do with her… she was in for a long, lonely life.

That thought was what made up her mind. She had to see him. He was the only person left on this planet that cared, however pathetic that thought seemed. Without him, she had no future. Even more pathetic.

But at least she'd have someone to talk to.

And with that final thought, Android 18 lifted into the air, in search of the little man that captivated her thoughts.

Chi-Chi shuffled along in her kitchen, trying desperately to get her son's lunch ready in time. She'd decided that if things were ever to get back to normal in their home, she needed a firm, unmovable schedule and, by golly, she was going to stick to it! And yet, she was seriously falling behind.

As much as she would have liked to blame her pregnancy for her currently slow pace, she knew better. She'd been trained as a warrior princess, for crying out loud. That Xena chick had nothing on her! (A/N: sorry, I've said this about Chi-Chi in conversation before, and couldn't resist! Besides, it's true!) Nothing short of a life threatening injury would slow her down!

She sighed to herself. No, the baby wasn't the issue. Her mind had been on… someone else lately. She shook herself out of her trance and called up to her son. "GOHAN! LUNCH IS READY!"

He didn't come down. He'd been like this for a while now. She'd call, and he'd ignore her, buried in his books. Part of her was glad to see that he was now giving his full attention to his studies, but the other part of her knew why.

She slowly made her way up the stairs and over to Gohan's room. There he was, sitting at his desk, doing his homework. Though, she could tell, something was on his mind.

She walked up behind him, and gently placed her hand on his shoulder. "Gohan, sweetie, lunch is ready. Did you want to come down now."

He looked up at her, and Chi-Chi could see the dark circles under his eyes. She'd known he was upset, but she had no idea that he was actually loosing sleep over this.

"I'm not hungry," he said, his voice cold and distant.

"Gohan, you have to eat. You've been cooped up in here since yesterday afternoon, and haven't eaten since lunch yesterday! And look at you, you haven't been sleeping. What's wrong?"

Gohan looked back into his mother's eyes "You know what's wrong, Mom."

She couldn't help think about how much he reminded her of his father. The only times he got like this was when, they'd either gotten into a huge fight, or when she'd make a comment about… that was it! That had to be it!

"Gohan, that was months ago. You've got to let that go, son. I know I was out of line, but-"

"You shouldn't have said that! You shouldn't have made him feel that way." Gohan's eyes narrowed at her.

"And you definitely shouldn't have slapped him, Mom," he added quietly. "The look on his face… he looked like he died. The whole reason he was here was he promised Dad he'd look out for us, and you threw that back in his face!"

Chi-Chi had never seen Gohan this bitter about anything before. He had always been so innocent. Quiet. Timid, even. He wouldn't hold a grudge to save his life.

But she'd heard about what happened with Cell, and then that Bojack guy at the Tournament. Something had changed in him after that.

She knew he was right, though. She'd gone too far, and owed him an apology. In fact, that was what she'd been thinking about while about her daily routine. But how to go about it? She suddenly got an idea, one that was sure to work, both to help her and Gohan.

She smiled at her son. "Tell you what. Why don't we go borrow Grandpa's car and go see him? I'm sure he'd like to see how you've been doing after these last few months."

Gohan's face lit up at the prospect of seeing his godfather again. He started running out the door, when he was stopped by Chi-Chi grabbing his shirt collar.

"Tomorrow. First you get some sleep mister. I've no doubt you'll sleep the entire time between now and then. We'll go for a visit after breakfast, okay?"

Gohan smiled up at his mother. "Okay, Mom. Goodnight!"

"Goodnight, Gohan."

She crept quietly down the stairs, knowing he was almost instantly asleep the second his head hit that pillow. Another trait he'd inherited from his father. When she reached the bottom of the stairs, she walked over to her phone and called her father to make arrangements for the following day.

_'I'm really sorry, Krillin,' _she tought._ 'I'll try to make this up to you somehow.'_

Krillin finally made it back home the next day, he had been so worn out from his training, he'd passed out right there on the island he was on. He couldn't train on Kame Island anymore, not with the type of training he'd been doing lately. If Master Roshi found out, he'd certainly forbid it, and try as he might, Krillin couldn't bring himself to disobey a command from his master… except of course, the more dubious ones, like when he'd practically ordered him to watch one of his programs with him. He'd blown that one off without a second thought.

The sun was just barely starting to come up as Krillin slowly entered Kame House. He tried to make as little noise as possible; Roshi and Oolong would be back from their little 'trip', and the last thing he wanted to deal with was that pig when he was hung over.

He slipped his shoes off and tiptoed up to his room, jumping that third step, as it always creaked, and sat down on his 'bed', which was nothing but a small mattress on the floor, and then, just as quickly jumped up and went over to his dresser, the only real piece of furniture he had. He opened the bottom drawer and pulled out a small box, inside which he kept miscellaneous things, drawings from when he was young, photos, dead leaves, some fairly attractive crystals that he had at one time planned on giving to Marron, and other things.

He stopped when he saw one photo in particular: a picture of him, Gohan, and Chi-Chi back when he'd been resurrected after Namek. He couldn't help but smile at that picture. At that time, he'd actually entertained the idea of marrying Chi-Chi, belive it or not. After all, they had no clue if Goku was dead or alive, (which was the primary reason he refrained from asking) and he was Gohan's godfather after all. It seemed the proper thing to do. Then, however, he'd heard Bulma's plan to use the Namekian Dragon Balls to wish Goku back, and that was that. Krillin was happy at that news; Gohan would have his dad back, and although Chi-Chi was a gorgeous woman, he didn't know if he could live like that for the rest of his life. Plus, it would've been an awkward marriage, too say the least. If she'd even said yes.

He put the picture back in the box, and picked up the last item contained therein.

The Emergency Shutdown Contoll that Bulma had made. Or rather what was left of it after he'd smashed it. He couldn't help laugh at the memory of Bulma's reaction when he'd told her he'd smashed it. He thought she was gonna pop. But what stung him about that memory, and quickly changed that smile to a frown was her reaction when he told her why. She laughed, thinking it was some kind of joke. When she found out he was serious, she just said she was 'happy for him'. But once she tought he was out of earshot, he heard what she'd said.

"Marron must've messed that poor guy up pretty bad if he's that desperate."

Those words hurt him, not because of the memories of Marron, not because his own friends seemed to be doubting his sanity. It hurt because he began to believe it was true, and the fact that he'd kept this thing was proof in itself. He'd kept it because it was all he had left of her. Android 18 had, in the span of a few weeks, stolen his heart with a single kiss, made him feel like he wanted to die when he lost her, and then, when he had her back, proceeded to grind aforementioned stolen heart into dust in front of all his friends before finally walking out of his life for good. The only ones who were oblivious to the fact were Gohan, who was too young tro understand, and Yamcha, who seemed to think this was a good sign. And like a fool, Krillin had believed him, for a while anyway.

Then there was that flop of an Intergalactic Tournament, where that weird blue alien/demon chick had proceeded to kick the living crap out of him in about six seconds flat, and all because, he was too entranced by her to fight back. _'It was the eyes,'_ he thought. _'She had eyes like 18.' _And afterward, he felt like scum, like he'd betrayed the woman he loved… even if she didn't love him back.

And even still, he hung on to that remote, hoping it might keep him connected to her somehow. Krillin sighed. It was official, he was pathetic.

He was pulled from his daydreams by a knock at the front door. Hurrying down the stairs as quietly as he could, still trying to avoid the pleasentries of a pig hung over. When he finally reached the door, he tried to regain some of his composure, as he had been near tears again. When he opened the door, however his eyes grew wide and his mouth dropped open at the sight of the last person he ever expected to see.

"What are YOU doing here?"

_Hmm… I wonder who it is? Who do you think it is? I gave some clues, but I still think you'll never guess. Also, yes I did include characters from one of the DBZ movies (don't kill me, PLEEEEAAASSE!) but some of them were actually written to fit in with the series, including that one. And I did add some stuff that wasn't in the show, but again, I'm going for realism here. Often times, if some one's father dies, their godfather will marry their mother as a means to both provide for the family, as well as provide a positive role model. And yes, Zangya's (that alien chick on that movie) eyes are very similar to 18's._

_But, it's panic time, as this story shows signs of having a Chi-Chi/Krillin/18 love triangle! And who knows maybe it will… if you guys want it to anyway. Or better yet, if you don't want it to, review and tell me so. Or I will unleash this bomb! It would be a first though. I am, however, considering doing a Mirai timeline story that might have a slight B/K/CC angle to it. I'll see how that goes. Let me know if I should do it! _

_Until next time, R&R people!_


	5. Chapter 5

-1**One Good Reason**

_Okay, here goes chapter 5! I know you've all been waiting to see who's on the other side of that door, and some of you even tried to guess who it was. AND, you're all wrong! This is a curve I'm sure no one saw coming. Actually, three more people show up along the line. You'll see soon. And to all the people who've been reviewing, thanks for showing interest. Would you believe only about 55 people are reading this total? Oh well. Everyone else doesn't know what they're missing! Enough of my bragging, on with the story!_

**Disclaimer: **I've been forgetting this puppy! But, this disclaimer shall count for all other chapters. I do not own DBZ or any related characters. Though I do wish I could own Krillin and 18. That way no one could screw with their relationship. Or draw Krillin as a drag queen again. (Goku and Vegeta, too. DON'T ASK!)

**Chapter 5**

"What are YOU doing here?"

Krillin found himself staring up at none other than Piccolo. The Namek looked down at him and smiled. "So now I need a reason to visit?" he asked.

Krillin scratched his head and replied, "Uh, yeah. You always did before. So what's up?" He then added, "Did you want to come in, or is this not gonna take long?"

"I'll come in thanks." Piccolo walked past Krillin and into the living room. Then he realized. "Krillin! What's on your head?!"

Krillin ran a hand through his hair and blinked. "What? Uh, nothing. I hope. Oh PLEASE tell me it's not a spider!"

Piccolo blinked in surprise. 'Well, there's no graceful way around this one, is there?' "I, uh, didn't know you shaved your head. You look younger now, I'll give you that." He then grew quite serious. "But I doubt you stopped for that."

"Okay, let me get this straight. You came all this way to comment on my hair?"

"More like the reason you have it. Something's bothering you, Krillin. This isn't like you. You never used to isolate yourself like this. You don't talk to anyone anymore; you rarely leave this house anymore, and… I know what you've been doing when you're out training."

Krillin's head shot up. There was no way he knew. No one could've known, he'd been so careful not to be followed. Then he remembered. Piccolo was staying on the Lookout.

"Well," Krillin began, his anger clearly audible, "I really don't see how that's any of your business. What I do in private is my concern, and I don't think that you have any right to be spying on me."

"Fine. You want to screw yourself up, not my problem. The reason I'm here is to warn you." Piccolo looked him straight in the eyes. "Something very bad is about to happen to you. Truth is, you may not survive it."

Krillin looked at him, head slightly tilted. "How can you possibly know that?"

"Kami had the gift of Foresight, remember? I guess I must have… retained it. Much as I don't like it. But the fact remains- you need to watch your back."

"Yeah, whatever, Piccolo."

Piccolo glared at the small man. "DO NOT take this lightly! You could DIE! Don't you understand that?"

"Yeah, so? Seems like that's the only way I ever do any good anyway."

Piccolo was growing steadily angrier. "You need to let that go, Krillin. There was no intention of insulting you when they said that, and you know it."

Krillin glared right back. "Yeah, right. Let me ask you, how would you feel if you had suffered pain, torture, and death and the hands of a psycho while trying to save a race? Then, when you come back, they all decide to congratulate you on getting yourself killed, as if everything else wasn't even worth mentioning! 'Thanks for dying, it helped Goku save us.' Yep, no insult there."

"You know they didn't mean it like that!"

"Maybe, but-". Krillin was cut off by a knock on the door. "Who could that be?"

He walked over to the door, and with a frustrated sigh, opened it. And promptly found himself being tackled to the floor.

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Vegeta was getting frustrated. He had been all over the stupid planet five times, and still couldn't find her. Though he had to admit, perhaps flying fast enough to circle the globe five times in one day was perhaps too fast to be going if one was searching, but it had helped his mood. A little.

His rage still seeped out of him however, this time in the form of an angry growl. He would find her, and when he did, he would prove to her he was superior. Superior in every way to a walking pile of scrap metal. But he had to find her first.

He had searched everywhere. Mountains, forests, caves, but everywhere he looked, there was no sign she'd ever been there. He'd even checked the island where she'd first been absorbed, figuring that maybe, for some reason, she'd return there. No such luck. He had, however, seen the ugly little freak there, doing some kind of stupid technique…

Inspiration struck Vegeta like a bolt of lightning. The midget man! He had been searching for her once, too. He probably knew where she was, or where she might be, anyway. He just had to follow that ugly little maggot, unappealing as the thought may be. Granted, he wouldn't willingly tell Vegeta where she was, but that didn't matter. He could just beat it out of him!

Vegeta smiled as he turned and headed south. He could beat the Android's location from the freak… and he relished the opportunity.

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Krillin found himself pinned, and looked up to see an overly ample bosom right in his face. _'Oh, great,' _he thought. _'This can only be one person.'_

"Marron, what are you doing?!" he managed to gasp out. He chanced a look over at Piccolo, whose eye was visibly twitching. Apparently, he remembered her.

The blue haired girl looked down at him, a pouty look on her face. "Oh, Krilly, I thought you'd be happy to see your Marron again after all this time!" She climbed off him and hoisted him up into a rather large bear hug. "You must have been so lonely here without me. Don't worry, Marron's here to make it all bett- hey, what's this?" she began running her fingers through his hair. "Ooh, you look so cute like that. Did you do it for me?"

When she finally relaxed her grip on him, he managed to choke out "Go away."

She dropped him to the floor, her face now wearing a scowl. "What did you say to me?"

"You heard me. Leave me alone! Go bother one of your boyfriends."

Marron's blood was boiling. No one said no to her, least of all this little man! What had happened? She used to have him wrapped around her little finger. Now, he had the nerve to tell her to get lost!

"Look, Krillin," she said, trying to hide her anger. "I know we had some hard times, but I'm willing to give us another go. Please?"

Now it was Krillin's turn to be angry. "Why? So you can hurt me again? I'm not that stupid. All you ever did was use me!"

"Krillin, sweetie, what are you talking about?"

"YOU USED ME! You had me take you places, take you shopping, and all so you could meet other guys. All you wanted me for was a wallet and a mule, someone who could do your heavy lifting! And you ran off with other men! I was too stupid to see; you used me once. I WON"T LET YOU DO IT AGAIN!" He reached around her and opened the door. "NOW GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!"

During all the excitement, Oolong had woken up, and came down the stairs, ready to rip someone's head off. "What's with all the noise? Some of us are trying to… HOLY COW!"

Oolong was immediately drooling over Marron, quite literally, until he saw Piccolo. He then decided it was best to go back up the stairs. 'I don't even want to know,' he told himself.

Marron marched out the door, and then turned back to Krillin. "You know what, fine. I'll go!" She then smiled sweetly at him. "But you're throwing the best thing that ever happened to you away!"

Krillin was trying to keep from screaming, and not doing so well. "'Best thing that ever happened to me'? More like the worst! YOU ARE THE BIGGEST MISTAKE I EVER MADE! I cared for you, and you hurt me! You call that GOOD?"

Marron just kept that fake smile plastered onto her face. "Whatever," she said, flipping her blue hair behind her. "Not like any other girl would ever take you. Goodbye, Krillin. Have fun in the Lonely Losers Club. I'm sure you'll be a permanent member!" With that, she got into her air car and drove off.

Piccolo walked up to Krillin and put a hand on his shoulder. "Krillin, are you gonna be okay?"

Krillin's only response was to slap Piccolo's hand away. He just stood there for a while, not making a sound, staring at the now setting sun, letting the waves wash over his bare feet. Her words were echoing in his head, mingled with the words of so many others, all affirming the same thing. He would be always be alone. No one to love him. No one that would care. No one to spend the rest of his life with.

No one who could see past his face.

It wasn't fair! His whole life, all he ever wanted was a family. The whole reason he took up fighting in the first place was because he wanted to 'meet girls', or that was what he said at the time. In truth, he wanted to find one girl in particular. He wanted someone to spend his life with, someone to have a family with. Someone he could love… and would love him.

Yet the more he searched, the more obvious it became: no one could love him. Anyone he ever got close to was scared away. Scared away by his deformity. Something he had no control over. His lack of a nose, his seemingly colorless eyes, they weren't his fault. And yet his burden to bear.

It didn't make sense. Goku hadn't wanted a family, and yet he had one. Tien hadn't really wanted one either, yet he still had Launch, frightening a thought as that may be. Even Vegeta had someone. Vegeta, the guy that had tried to kill them all, even tried to destroy the planet, had Bulma. And the only thing Krillin had gotten in his life? Suffering a horrible and painful death at the hands of a monster. Twice. That, and a few painful memories of a girl whose only intention was to use him.

Without another word, he started to fly away, leaving behind a very concerned Piccolo.

_'Be careful, Krillin,' _he thought to himself. _'Whatever's coming for you is out there right now, and if it finds you… I dread to think what might happen.' _-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_Okay. That chapter was kinda weak, but served its purpose. Also, I had to take three breaks from writing this due to interruptions at home. But, anyway… DIDN"T EXPECT IT TO BE PICCOLO, DID YA?! And I thought Marron was an interesting curveball as well. Though for the life of me, I can't figure out why some authors seem to have her competing with Bulma for Vegeta. That wasn't even an issue! Frankly, I find her to actually be one of the worst DBZ characters on the show: she hurt Krillin more than anyone else did, and didn't even care. But, that's my opinion. Next time, Krillin and 18 are gonna meet up, and something bad's gonna happen! And before anyone asks, no. Krillin is not using drugs, nor is he drinking. Let's just say that what he's doing that has Piccolo so concerned involves the multiform technique. Well, see ya next chapter! REVIEW, PEOPLE!!_


	6. Chapter 6

-1**One Good Reason**

_Well, I know I said I might have two chapters out at once, but at the same time, I'm not feeling that Industrious tonight, so it may only be one. But you'll like it, I think. Krillin an 18 finally meet up, have a bit of a talk, and are then set upon by… Vegeta! Also, Chi-Chi and Gohan are already on their way to see Krillin, but as you know, he's not there, so what's gonna happen there? But before I go on to the story, I'd like to thank my reviewers! You guys keep me going! And a VERY special thank-you to Deadly Beauty for taking time out of her incredibly busy schedule to read and review this! And now, TO THE BEACH! (Or rather, about five hundred feet above it, actually…)_

**Chapter 6**

"Gohan, will you turn that music down, please? My head is killing me!" Chi-Chi sighed to herself, waiting for Gohan to turn the radio down for the fifth time that day. Sometimes she swore he could be as dense as his father.

"Sorry, Mom," Gohan mumbled, as he reached for the volume control. He himself couldn't figure out what the big deal was. It's not like he was listening to anything that 'loud' anyway; it was Chopin, for crying out loud! It was supposed to be relaxing, which he had told her several times during their trip. She always responded with the usual 'Well it's not working!' that she'd always used.

"He couldn't figure out what had his mom so nervous, anyway. They were just going to see Krillin. Granted, she had the more difficult task of apologizing, but that had never made her this nervous. She'd been pacing the floor at home, hadn't slept well the night before; she'd even spent an hour primping in the bathroom before their trip to Grandpa's to pick up the car.

Gohan just shrugged. _'Must be a pregnancy thing',_ he thought to himself. Then, he decided to just sit back and listen to the soft music playing on the radio.

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Krillin finally touched down on an island. To some, this place was just some uninhabited island in the middle of the ocean. To him, however, this was the only place that still held meaning. The place where he would come to be alone, to think, to train. It was also the place where he had failed. The place where he lost HER.

This was the island where Android 18 had been absorbed, allowing the monster known as Cell to become complete, or as he put it, 'perfect'. And it had been his fault. He could have pressed that button, 18 would have shut down, and it all would have been over. Sure, some people had tried to tell him that if anyone was to be blamed, it should have been Vegeta. After all, he had let Cell go to achieve his transformation, and had even tried to help him obtain it. But Krillin had been inconsolable; he'd had his responsibility, too, and had just let it slip away. And he had less to gain from it than anyone. He was stupid! He'd let her go because he 'loved' her. As if she could ever love him back. Marron was right on, there. No one could love him.

Krillin's thoughts soon drifted back to 18. She was so beautiful! She was perfect! Especially her eyes, they were the most gorgeous eyes he'd ever seen, an incredibly rare ice blue. To his way of thinking, there was no wonder Cell needed her to obtain perfection.

Krillin mentally slapped himself. How could he even think to make light of that? That monster put her through hell; God only knew how much she had suffered. And here he was trying to make light of it! What was he thinking?!

He just sat there for a moment, trying to collect his very scrambled thoughts. No small task anymore. He was so intent on his task, in fact, that he didn't notice that there was another figure present on the island, watching him through a pair of very intense blue eyes.

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Vegeta was fuming now. He had been high and low on the planet, yet he couldn't seem to be able to sense the small one. Apparently, he had become almost insanely good at suppressing his ki. Either that or he did the world a favor and died. Vegeta had found him to be quite the waste of space. All he seemed to be able to do was get himself killed. _'Although,' _he admitted to himself, _'to his credit, he doesn't run. Though he'd probably be more help if he did.' _

He returned his thoughts to the hunt. Not being able to sense either his prey or his 'bait' was frustrating.

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18 stood behind a rather large boulder, keeping watch over the little man before her. She noted with some amusement that he now had hair, short as it was. She also noticed his emotional state. He seemed sad. Lonely. Pathetic. Much the same as she'd felt lately.

After watching him for nearly an hour, she decided to make her presence known to him. Stepping out from her hiding place she cleared her throat to get his attention, and couldn't suppress a smile as he jumped, quite literally, three feet into the air.

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Vegeta's head snapped up. He'd felt it, just for a moment, but still. That moment was all he needed to get a lock onto that position, which was on the other side of the planet. 'That just figures,' he thought. Still, it was a small price to pay. And with a smirk on his face, he blasted toward the faint ki signal he'd sensed before, somehow knowing his prey would be there.

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_That's it for now. I know I promised more, but I've been busy, and I wanted to give you people at least something to read. But, as a bonus for being nice and not killing me for this short, crappy chapter, I shall upload TWO chapters next time! One will be short, however, and one will be a nice long one! Yep! And for those of you wondering, the secret past will soon be revealed! And, yes! Chi-Chi will throttle Oolong! Now how can you beat that? Until next time, PLEASE REVIEW!!! Even if you already have before. I'd like to know if you still like it!_


	7. Chapter 7

-1**One Good Reason**

_Okay, I'm back. And I'm here with an update. Sorry it took so long, but a lot's been happening lately. We sorta had a family crisis, so my computer access was pretty much nil. And I know I promised two chapters would be posted together, but since this one was already written, and I still have very little time before my mom will need this computer again, I've just edited my A/Ns and posted this so you'd at least know I haven't died or anything! Again, SORRY!!!_

**Disclaimer: **THE FOLLOWING DISCLAIMER APPLIES TO ALL FUTURE CHAPTERS- I DO NOT OWN DBZ OR ANY RELATED CHARACTERS.

**Chapter 7**

Krillin could scarcely believe his eyes. He had honestly thought that when 18 had left, he'd never see her again; yet there she was, standing no more than ten feet away from him. Nothing about her had changed. Granted, her wardrobe was slightly different -though she still seemed to favor the T-shirt and jeans look- and tornin a few places, but she basically looked the same, especially those eyes. Her beautiful eyes. Those eyes had captivated him from the moment he saw them, and had still held him in a daze throughout the many months since he'd last seen her.

And now she was back. Standing in front of the now-setting sun, which created a soft glowing silhouette around her already angelic frame. There was a small smile on her face as she began to walk toward him. Krillin felt as if he was going to faint, and would have, had it not been for the rather sharp smack to the back of his head.

"Snap out of it, little man."

He looked up at her face, seeing her smile replaced by her usual blank expression. 'Well, that was embarrassing,' he thought. 'Still, the way she looked… is she TRYING to kill me?'

18 stared down at the little man in front of her, a slight scowl starting to make itself apparent on her face. Sure, the way he had nearly fainted was flattering and, dare she think it, cute, but it was annoying. She was trying to talk, and he was just standing there in a daze! Finally, she decided to voice her opinion.

"How exactly am I supposed to talk to someone who can't even look at me without fainting?"

Krillin hung his head slightly, blushing slightly. "Uh, I'm s-sorry! I… uh…" He snapped his head up quickly, "Wait a sec… you want to talk? TO ME?!" This was new. He wasn't sure whether this was good or bad.

18 rolled her eyes and sighed. "Yes, to you! Who else would I talk to out here?" Geeze, this guy could be dense. He sat down on the ground and motioned for her to sit next to him. She remained standing.

'Oh, well,' Krillin thought to himself. 'Worth a try, anyway.' He took a deep breath before asking, "So, what have you been up to lately?"

"Not much."

"Did you ever find your brother?"

"Yes."

"How is he?"

18 paused for a moment before answering. "My brother is the most immature, annoying, self -centered MORON on this entire planet!"

Krillin's eyes went a little wide. 'Oookay, sensitive issue. Boy, when I screw up, I sure do it big, don't I?' "I'm sorry to hear that. So where are you two staying?"

18 glared at him. "What business is it of yours?"

Krillin began to falter again. That woman could stare down Vegeta, no doubt about it. "Well, I uh… I was just… you know, wondering if you had a place to stay. I mean, if you don't maybe I could help…"

18's face began to soften a little. He seemed genuinely concerned. Suddenly, she could hear a tiny little voice in the back of her head, reminding her that he was supposed to be the enemy, that any interest he had in her was that of physical attraction, nothing more. He was a MAN, after all. Besides, it wasn't his place to worry either way. Her face returned to her usual scowl. Walking over to Krillin, she hauled him up off the ground and lifted him until he was eye level with her. "Look, Shorty," she hissed. "I didn't come here to make small talk. I've got questions, you've got answers. And you're going to give me those answers one way or another. Got it?" She smirked at the sight of the small man trembling before her as he made an audible gulp and nodded furiously. "Good," she said, and dropped him to the ground.

Krillin sat up, still shaking slightly. He thought for sure she was going to kill him. Still, he had a feeling he knew what she was going to ask, and when she heard his reason… he didn't want to go there. Suddenly, an idea began to take shape in his mind. He tried to dismiss it at first, but the more he thought about it, he didn't see why he shouldn't ask. "Okay, tell you what. I'll answer your questions if you answer one of mine."

"Fine. Ask away."

He took a deep breath before finally asking, "Why… uh… why did you …"

"Spit it out!" she yelled.

"Why did you kiss me?"

At first, 18 bristled at the audacity of this little… thing! The nerve of him, thinking he had a right to ask her that! 'Well,' she thought, 'I guess I do owe him at least that.' The only problem was, she herself didn't quite know. She was sure there was some reasoning behind what she'd done, but it had also been so spontaneous…

"Alright, fine. Just give me a minute to think."

Krillin was ecstatic. He was finally going to get an answer to the question he'd been asking himself for the past five months! Reality soon set in, however, and he realized he might not like the answer. But at least he'd be able to stop beating himself up about it. And so, he sat down in the sand to wait for his answer.

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Oolong had finally decided to get out of bed (for good this time). Granted, his head was still pounding from his MAJOR hangover, and he felt like throwing up, but he had been in bed the entire day. Plus, his favorite show was coming on. Hung over or not, no way was he missing his girls!

He had just plopped his large, rotund, (ugly, disgusting…oops) rear on the couch, when he heard what sounded like an air car pulling up by the house. 'That's weird,' he thought. 'We weren't expecting anyone today.' Soon, there was a knock on the door.

Oolong got up to answer it, but it suddenly flew open, and a rather irate and surprisingly dolled-up Chi-Chi stomped through the doorway.

"Honestly, Gohan, I ask you to turn the music down, and you can't even do that one simple thing!"

"But Mom," came the voice of Gohan from just beyond the doorway, "It was classical music! It's not like I was listening to what Dad and Krillin used to listen to."

Oolong finally managed to haul himself up off the floor. "Hey Kid," he said. "How ya been?"

Gohan walked into the house and smiled at the pig. "Oh, hi, Oolong. I'm doing okay. Is Krillin…?"

Chi-Chi stormed back into the living room from the kitchen. "All right, where is he?"

Oolong looked at her. He then began drooling… she looked HOT! Chi-Chi apparently noticed this, because she promptly hauled the pig off his feet, twisted one arm behind his back, and began to apply pressure. "Where is he?" she asked again.

"Who?" Oolong managed to gasp out.

"Where's Krillin?!"

Gohan decided that it would be best if he waited in the other room. The last thing he wanted was to deal with his mom when she was angry AND pregnant. That was a lethal combination.

Oolong was feeling intense pain. If he didn't answer soon, Chi-Chi might break his arm. "I DON'T KNOW WHERE HE IS!"

Chi-Chi finally dropped him to the floor. "What? Whadda ya mean you don't know?!"

"H-He took off… toward the islands."

"Oh, that's just GREAT!! Spend all day in a car trying to come visit someone, music blaring in your ears the whole way, and HE'S NOT HERE!!! I don't know why I even bother with men…"

Oolong's curiosity finally got the better of him. "Uh, Chi-Chi? If you don't mind my asking, why'd you get all dolled up to come see Krillin?"

Chi-Chi whirled on him, steam practically coming out of her ears. "THAT'S NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS, YOU LITTLE PERVERT!" She then stomped out of the house, muttering something unintelligible under her breath.

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Krillin was getting bored. 18 had just been sitting there, thinking for the last fifteen minutes, in that time, he had played tic-tac-toe in the sand- against himself, what fun-about half a dozen times, amassed a modest rock collection, and had then skipped aforementioned rock across the water. Now, he was just sitting in the san, watching the sunset. It was another couple of minutes before 18 finally spoke up. "Okay, I'm ready."

Krillin spun to look at her, and she sat down next to him. That alone made his head spin and his heart beat faster. 'This woman is as bad as some drug,' he thought. He took a few deep breaths to calm himself down. "Okay," he said, "Shoot."

"Well," she began, "I guess it was a couple of things. I kin of admired you. Your friends, well, they just rushed into a fight they knew they couldn't win. You didn't."

Krillin was confused. "So, you admired me because I was a coward?"

"I wouldn't call that a coward, I call that being smart. Besides, even when you saw me come toward you, you didn't run. For another thing, you tried to talk us out of what we were doing rather than just try to solve things with your fists. A lost cause, and kinda stupid, but admirable nonetheless. Besides, kissing you seemed a nice way to shut you up."

Krillin hung his head a little. Not quite what he was hoping for, but better than nothing. "So, that's it, huh?"

"No," she added with a smirk. "You're also kinda cute when you're squirming." She then grabbed him by his shirt collar and hissed into his face. "And if you tell anyone, and I mean ANYONE about this, I'll kill you. Got it?" Krillin gulped and nodded. "Good." She let go of his shirt.

18 found herself faced with a dilemma. She now had a new question that she felt needed to be answered. But asking it was another matter entirely. She felt herself growing irritated. What was it about that little man that made her feel weak? She shook the anger off and decided to ask. "Why do people make such a big deal out of it anyway?"

Krillin looked back up at her. "Come again?"

"Kissing," she replied. "Why is it such a big deal?"

Krillin began to blush slightly. He wasn't quite sure how to explain it to her. "Well, uh… kissing someone means… uh, it means… that you really care about someone, I guess. Usually people kiss each other on the lips. Unless of course they're family, that's just gross…"

"What does it feel like?"

'Oh, boy,' he thought. 'I really can't explain this.' "I guess you just have to experience it to know that. I can't really explain…"

"Kiss me."

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Vegeta was getting close to his target. He had felt the little freak's power level rapidly fluctuating. 'He might as well have sent me an invitation,' he thought to himself. As he approached the small island chain, he looked down and saw the midget… and his prey. They seemed to be in the middle of some conversation, which Vegeta found odd. 'Why is she wasting her time with him? Why doesn't she just kill him?' He decided to go in for a closer look.

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Krillin's eyes nearly bugged right out of his head. "HUH? Are you SERIOUS?!"

18 had to suppress a laugh at the sight of his face. "Don't get the wrong idea, Shorty. I just wanna know what the big deal is, and since you can't describe it…" She then smirked at him. "What, you don't want to?"

Krillin couldn't deny that he'd wanted to for a long time now, but he'd envisioned it as being… meaningful. Not just some experiment to satisfy her curiosity! "Yeah," he finally relented. "So, uh… how do you want it?"

18 thought for a moment, then finally decided. "Lips," she said, and re-positioned herself so she was facing him.

Krillin felt like he was gonna cry. This wasn't how he'd wanted this to go. It felt so wrong! Then he looked up at her. Her eyes met his, and both started to lean in…

"WELL, ISN'T THIS SWEET. THE MIDGET FREAK AND THE TIN CAN! WHO"DVE THOUGHT!"

Both Krillin and 18 jumped back and looked up. They both knew who that voice belonged to.

"Vegeta!"

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_Well, that's my next chapter! Let me ask you this, Why do YOU think Chi-Chi got all fancied up just to go see Krillin? And what do you think will happen with Krillin, 18 and Vegeta? And yes, I am an Oolong basher, but then, who ISN'T? PLEASE REVIEW!_


	8. Chapter 8

-1**One Good Reason**

_Well, here I am again! I've decided that since a couple of you sapzzed on me (not that I mind, I'm glad you like it!) due to my last cliffhanger, I'll update again! I've been a good little Boy Scout lately, so I get some Comp. Time! (Not to mention lots of toys from Santa this Christmas!) So, here it is you guys. (You know who you are!)_

**Chapter 8**

Gohan walked out of the Kame House to see his mother sitting in the car, apparently fighting back tears. He didn't know what the problem was. Sure, they'd come to see Krillin and he hadn't been home, but still. She didn't usually cry, at least not over small stuff like this.

He walked up to his mother and placed his hand on her shoulders. "Mom, are you O.K.?"

Chi-Chi looked up at her son and smiled. "I'm fine, Gohan. I just don't handle frustration very well these days. Pregnancy does that to people." She turned away from him as more tears began to well up in her eyes.

Gohan knew why she was crying. She missed his dad, and the baby was a constant reminder that he was gone. He bent down and wrapped his arms around her. "Mom, since Krillin isn't here, did you want to go home? We can always…"

Chi-Chi jumped up to her feet, a scowl on her face. "No. I'm fine. I didn't drive all day long just to turn back. Besides, it's too late to go now. We might as well spend the night here." She began to breathe rather heavily. "And I swear, if that old man and the pig expose you to any, and I mean ANY of that garbage they call 'tasteful entertainment', I'LL KILL THEM MYSELF!!" And with that, she stomped into the house, Gohan following close behind. He had a feeling something bad was going to happen.

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Krillin found himself simultaneously wanting to kill Vegeta for interrupting and to run up to the man and shake his hand for sparing him from a potentially heart-breaking experience. But then, he saw the look in his eyes. And he quickly became terrified.

That was the same look he had on his face when he fought them all those years ago, when they faced Frieza, when they faced the Androids and Cell. The psychotic look of a hunter stalking an easy kill, wanting to toy with it's prey before killing it. And he was focusing that gaze on 18.

"What do you want, Vegeta?" Krillin finally managed to choke out.

Vegeta shifted his gaze to Krillin. "What do I want, Freak? I want what's rightfully mine. I want my revenge." His gaze shifted back to 18 "And I WILL have it!"

Krillin looked over at 18 to find her normally expressionless face contorted with fear. He'd seen that look only twice before, and ironically on this very island. Once when she'd seen him with that control. And the other when that monster had come for her.

Vegeta began to advance toward 18, causing her to take a step back. "What's wrong, Android? Where's that cocky attitude you were so well known for? Not so confident this time, are you?" She took another step back. Vegeta saw this and smirked. "So, then. How shall I destroy you, hmm? Should I drag it out, or just get it over with?" He began to chuckle as he quickly took his ascended form. "Decisions, decisions!"

Krillin was visibly shaking, though not from fear. He himself wasn't sure why, but he did know this: he couldn't lose her again. "18", he shouted, "get out of here, now! He silently prayed that maybe this time she'd listen. She didn't.

Instead 18 rushed toward Vegeta, and began to attack. Krillin watched in horror as she began to throw punch after punch, kick after kick at Vegeta, all of which he blocked. Finally getting tired of what he considered to be an easy game, he simply reached out for her and grabbed her by the throat. "You've gotten sloppy, Android. And here I was hoping for a challenge. Well, at least there's a bright side for you. I promise I'll make this quick."

Vegeta began applying pressure to her windpipe, causing her to cry out in pain. This apparently pleased Vegeta to no end, as he began to laugh and applied even more pressure, causing 18's cries to change from painful gasps to coking gurgles.

Krillin's shaking began to intensify as he watched the cruel display before him. There was the woman of his dreams, having the life choked out of her right in front of him, just to soothe someone's bruised ego. And all he could do was stand there and watch. He hung his head and gritted his teeth, his shaking becoming so intense he was amazed that he was still standing. He couldn't let this happen. Not again. He looked up at her face and into her eyes. They were filled with panic. Fear. They seemed to beg for someone, anyone to help. He couldn't just ignore that.

Finally, something within him snapped, and with a scream of pure rage, he launched himself forward, determined to do whatever it took to save her. He'd failed her once before.

He had no intention of failing again

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Roshi just sat in his chair, staring at an irate fuming Chi-Chi, who was currently on a tirade about exposing Gohan to his 'trashy magazines'

"But Chi-Chi," he whined, "the boy asked me where babies come from. I had to show him somehow!"

Chi-Chi sat down in front of him, grabbed him by his shirt collar, and leaned forward, shouting directly into his face. "FIRST OF ALL, OLD MAN, YOU DIDN'T NEED A VISUAL AID, DID YOU?! AND IT WASN'T YOUR JOB TO TELL HIM, ANYWAY!!" She the noticed that he was no longer focused on her face, but on her now partially exposed chest. She growled, picked him up, and put him right through the wall. The nerve of that old pervert, anyway.

Still, she figured she was partially to blame. After all, the outfit she was wearing was slightly more revealing than her usual ensemble, and leaning forward in the man's face probably hadn't helped too much. She shook her head and decided to find where Gohan had gotten to.

Once she was gone, Oolong crawled out from his hiding place, which had been the cupboard under the sink. Shaking with silent laughter, he walked over to the hole in the wall and helped Roshi up. "You really have a death wish , old man. You used to know better than to mess with Chi-Chi! Why'd you do it?"

"I couldn't help it," the old man replied. "It was right in front of my face! Why is she dressed like that, anyway?"

Oolong stopped walking and looked at Roshi. "You know, I was wonderin' the same thing. She doesn't usually get all fancied up like that. Why is this time any different?"

Roshi began to scratch his chin in thought. "Well, she said she was coming here to see Krillin…"

Oolong's eyes went wide. "HOLY COW! You don't think…?"

Roshi looked back up at the pig. "I suppose it IS possible. Though I must say, I didn't see this one coming. It seems rather sudden." He closed smiled slightly. "Then again, we might be reading into this. Still, It would be nice to have some action around here again."

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Gohan was currently sitting on the bed in the guest room, his face still red after seeing what Roshi had shown him. All he did was ask a simple question, and his mom had blown up at both of them! He couldn't help being curious, he was only 11... Well 11 ½ actually. He had wanted to know how his mom had gotten pregnant, and figured that since Master Roshi was so old, he'd know. And now he was in trouble!

He sighed again, looking out the window. Suddenly, he felt something. A familiar ki, not too far away from the Island. It felt like… Vegeta?! What would he be doing out here? And at full power, no less! Gohan extended his senses further and thought he felt another, smaller ki. This one also seemed familiar; in fact, it felt like… Krillin?! No way! This was a lot higher than Krillin's power level was supposed to be! And it was distressed.

It didn't take long for him to figure out that something was wrong. SERIOUSLY wrong! Without a second thought, Gohan opened the window and began to climb out, when he was halted by the voice of his mother.

"GOHAN! What are you doing? Get back in here this instant!"

Gohan turned to look at her. "I'm sorry, Mom. I've gotta go. Something bad's happening with Krillin and Vegeta. I'll be back." with that, he blasted off into the darkening sky, leaving behind a very worried Chi-Chi.

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Vegeta stared into the eyes of his victim, savoring the sight of her panic-stricken face. In fact, he was so focused on her that he didn't hear the scream that came from behind him, and soon felt a blow to the side of his head, which propelled him to the other side of the island.

18 fell to the ground, coughing and sputtering as her airway was now clear. She tried to stand and soon felt herself being assisted by a pair of strong arms. She looked up to see Krillin standing above her, steadying her as she rose. He flashed her a small smile.

"Maybe this time you'll listen to me when I tell you to run!"

18 needed no further encouragement, as she blasted off the island, trying to put as much distance between it and herself as possible. Krillin was relieved to see her go, at least now he wouldn't have to worry about her anymore. He turned to focus his attention on Vegeta.

Truth be told, he'd expected Vegeta to come at him in a rage. Instead, the Saiyan prince rose slowly, clutching the side of his head. Then he began to laugh. An insane, maniacal laugh, which gradually rose in intensity. Finally, he spoke. "Well, well, you're a sneaky little midget, aren't you? You caught me off guard! And you let the Android get away. That wasn't very nice, now was it?"

Krillin was beginning to get nervous. He'd never seen Vegeta act like this before. He seemed to be beyond reason, almost completely insane! And when next he spoke, his words were cold and hollow.

"I've decided to let you live this time, freak! But only because I have a chase ahead of me. If I go now I can still catch her. Get in my way again, and I won't show the same pity." He started to lift off, only to be hit from a ki blast from behind. Granted, it didn't do much damage, but still, the little freak had had the nerve to attack him again. And the part that really got him mad?

It stung! And he was in his ultimate form! How could an inferior member of an already inferior race cause him pain?! And to make matters worse, his prey had gotten away! Vegeta growled to himself. This little freak was going to pay BIG TIME!

Suddenly, he was struck with an idea. Maybe he could still have some fun after all. "Well, little freak. Since you seem so intent on dying tonight, maybe I can help you along, eh?."

Krillin was scared, to say the least. He didn't relish going up against Vegeta. Still, he knew that every second he spent here would buy 18 more time to get away. That alone as worth it to him. He dropped into a fighting stance, waiting for Vegeta's attack.

Vegeta saw what Krillin was doing and laughed. "This is pathetic. Fool! You know I could destroy you without even trying. But…" Shockingly, Vegeta powered down to his natural form. "This might make things a bit more interesting!" And without another word, he rushed straight at Krillin.

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Gohan flew toward the two ki signals as fast as he could, when he suddenly felt Vegeta's drop. At first, he feared the worst, but upon further investigation, he noted that while it was smaller, it was still going strong and wildly fluctuating. As was Krillin's

That part was confusing. If tose two were fighting, but he couldn't detect an enemy ki, then it could only be one of two things. Either they were fighting one of the Androids… or each other.

With that in mind, Gohan decided to go all out. He powered up and flew off toward the other two at full speed. He soon reached the island chain where they were located and thought he had seen a familiar figure floating in the air above one of the islands. Upon closer inspection, he found it was Android 18.

'What's she doing here?' he thought. 'Well, if she's not fighting, there's a good chance her brother's not either, so that means… oh, man! Maybe I should ask her just to be sure.' He floated down to her level and lightly tapped her on the shoulder. She jumped slightly, then turned around to be faced with the kid that killed Cell.

'Oh, great,' she thought. 'Now everyone's after me!' She was almost ready to take off when the boy spoke to her.

"Excuse me, but do you know what's going on over there?" he asked, motioning toward the islands where Vegeta and Krillin were.

She just looked at him in a state of shock. He wasn't going to kill her? Finally she spoke. "They're fighting. Because of me." She ran her hands through her hair and began sobbing. "He's gonna die because of me!"

Gohan was shocked; instead of sounding like her usual self, she almost sounded like a scared little girl. "Who?", he asked her.

She responded with only a whisper. "Krillin."

Gohan wasted no time in blasting off, in hopes of saving his friend.

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Vegeta propelled himself backwards, panting. There was no way! NO! WAY! The little freak was at least as strong as he was! It was impossible. No way he could've gotten that strong. He hadn't even been training! The only time he could've was during those ten days before the Cell Games, and he'd wasted half of those with Kakarot and his brat! And now, he was almost as strong as a Super Saiyan. It WAS! NOT POSSIBLE!

Krillin himself was feeling a bit surprised. Korin had told him once that he had amazing potential. Of course, back then, they'd considered Goku and Piccolo's 300 point power levels incredible, but still! This was amazing, even to him! He must've finally broken through that last plateau.

He still had to focus, however. There was no telling when Vegeta would get tired of his little game and decide to use his transformations. He had to press his advantage.

Krillin again rushed toward Vegeta, throwing his left fist at Vegeta's head. Vegeta managed to block it and was ready to counter with a blow of his own, when he suddenly felt an extremely sharp pain in his midsection. He looked down to see Krillin's right fist embedded in his stomach, having pierced his armor.

Vegeta stumbled backward from the pain, clutching his stomach. He mentally cursed himself for being so stupid. He'd obviously underestimated this shrimp. 'That's it,' he told himself, 'enough is enough! He went Super Saiyan and caught Krillin's foot just before it slammed into his face. He smiled at his opponent and couldn't suppress his laughter as he gave Krillin's leg a sharp twist, snapping the bone clean in two.

Krillin hit the ground and screamed, clutching his leg. He chanced a look at it and saw that part of the bone had actually punctured his skin, causing a rather large amount of blood to flow from the wound. He could only hope that it wasn't a major artery. Then again, that was part of the reason he'd done this in the first place.

He looked up and saw Vegeta hovering in the air above the island, a smirk plastered onto his smug face. "Well, I have to admit, Shorty, you gave me a decent workout. But now I'm afraid it's time for you to DIE!" He raised a single hand, and a large ki ball appeared in his palm. He was about to fire it, when he noticed the look on Krillin's face. Not fear, but almost… longing? Vegeta's smirk turned into a full-fledged smile. "Then again, maybe that's what you wanted. Hmm, should I, or shouldn't I? Let's see…"

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High above the Earth, Piccolo stood on the Lookout, watching the scene unfold below. This was obviously the danger he'd been sensing. And although he felt compelled to intervene, he also knew he couldn't.

'I warned you, Krillin. Now we can only watch and see what Fate has in store for you.

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Gohan was finally close enough to the island to see what was going on. Krillin was on the ground below, his leg obviously broken. And high above the island floated Vegeta, his hand extended, attack at the ready. It didn't take Gohan long to register what was going on.

Vegeta was going to kill Krillin!

Gohan continued toward the island as fast as he could, hoping he could get there before it was too late. Finally, in attempt to disuade him, he let out a cry.

"VEGETA! STOP!

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Vegeta heard someone call his name, and looked over to se Kakarot's brat flying toward him. Vegeta mentally cursed that boy in every language he knew. There was no way he was going to let that brat ruin his plans again.

He looked down at Krillin. "I promised you a long time ago I'd make you regret letting me live! So, you want to die so badly?! WISH GRANTED FREAK!!"

And with that, he fired.

Gohan saw the blast leave Vegeta's hand and fly straight at Krillin. Unable to think of anything else, he let loose with one of his own, hoping against hope that it could intercept Vegeta's in time.

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18 sat on the island where she'd been waiting, hoping that this would all be over soon. She was in a state of disarray; on the one hand, she wanted to break down and cry, but on the other hand, she refused to show any kind of weakness.

Suddenly, the sky in the direction that the fight was taking place light up with a bright blue light, and 18 found herself unable to stop the tears.

Because even from here, miles away from the fight, she could hear Krillin scream.

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_Well, that's all for this time. I know, I know, you think I'm evil. But hey, you love me for it. Please review!_


	9. Chapter 9

**One Good Reason**

_Wow! A lot of people seem to be afraid that I killed Krillin! Or that He's going to die soon. All I can say to that is… THIS IS NOT A/U! I'm following the series, here. Sure, in the whole 'missing seven years', there's a lot of wiggle room, but I am bound by the confines of the series. If he dies, then that would mean a trip to Namek to wish him back, wouldn't it? And something that important would be at least mentioned in the show… I think. Then again, you'd think that something like Goten being born or Krillin getting married would've been shown, too, so… yeah. Anyway, here's the next chapter._

**Chapter 9**

Gohan turned his eyes from the blinding blue light filling the night sky, his arms lifted defensively in an effort to block some of the force from the enormous shockwave caused by the blast, yet even from this distance he was feeling no small amount of discomfort. Soon, however, the blast died down, and he chanced a look at the island that was below him. Or what was left of it.

Half of the island had been obliterated, the other half reduced to little more than a barren crater, with only a few small patches of grass scattered throughout. If all that had been caused by the shockwave alone, then it was a good thing he'd managed to intercept Vegeta's blast with his own. As he scanned the island for further damage, Gohan realized one very important thing. Krillin was nowhere in sight.

Gohan panicked as he began to search for Krillin's ki. He focused as hard as he could, and soon was able to detect several tiny ones, all of them belonging to the several fish and sea birds that had begun to gather at the scene. Then he felt it, a faint signal that he almost missed. At least he knew Krillin was alive. But he was still nowhere in sight. He lowered himself down to the ground and walked over to where the ki signal was coming from and saw a hand sticking out of the ground near the edge of the crater.

He rushed over to the hand and gave it a gentle tug. The loose sand fell away revealing a bloody, obviously broken arm. Setting it down as gently as he could, Gohan began to dig the rest of the sand away from the immediate area, gradually revealing more of the short fighter's broken body. When he had finished he looked down at Krillin, noting that nearly every bone in his body seemed broken, and he was loosing blood fast. He needed help, and there was only one person he knew that could do it. Without a second thought, Gohan picked Krillin up as gently as he could, and took off to go see Dende, completely unaware that he was being followed.

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18 was flying far enough behind Gohan to be sure she wouldn't be noticed, yet still keep him in sight. And she was cursing herself the entire time.

She didn't know why she cared about the little man that the boy now carried. She wanted to think that it was her desire to have her questions answered that drove her on, that the only reason she cared was because he had the answers. She wanted to believe that. But she couldn't

Try as she might to deny it, she did have some kind of feeling for him, though she wasn't sure what it was. In fact when their near-kiss had been interrupted, she had felt anger and perhaps a twinge of… disappointment. Another thing that she began to curse herself for. It was only for experimental purposes, it meant nothing! And then, when all this had occurred, she had cried! Cried, of all things! Exactly what kind of weak pathetic beings cried? Humans. Something she no longer was.

Was she?

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Gohan soon saw the familiar hemispherical shaped Lookout above him, and increased his speed, trying to get help to Krillin as soon as he possibly could. He was, after all, still losing quite a bit of blood. When Gohan finally touched down on the white-tiled floor, he wasted no time in calling out. "DENDE?! WHERE ARE YOU?!"

The young Namekian's ears perked up at the sound of Gohan's voice; he was pleased to hear his old friend again, but he sounded troubled. As he exited the main building and entered the courtyard, he soon saw why. Gohan was panting, out of breath. And in his arms rested Krillin, who appeared to be a bloody mess.

The new Guardian's face became filled with concern. "Gohan. What happened?"

"That's not important," he replied. "Just please, heal him!"

"Alright, I'll try. Set him down, please."

Gohan did as he was told and stepped back to allow Dende to do his magic. Dende placed his hands over Krillin's prone form and a soft golden glow appeared around him. Gohan watched as Krillin's wounds began to heal. Bones were being set and mended, cuts and scrapes closing and being sealed. That process would never cease to amaze him. It even seemed to regenerate all the blood Krillin had lost on the trip over.

Dende soon finished his work and stepped back, waiting for Krillin to open his eyes and wake up. A few seconds passed by and he still hadn't stirred. Gohan didn't worry too badly, though. After all, he'd suffered some pretty serious injuries. The seconds, however, soon became minutes, and that gave them cause for concern. Even the normally docile Mr. Popo, who had come out with Dende, began to show concern. Finally, after five minutes had passed, Gohan voiced his worry. "How come he isn't waking up?" He knelt down and began to shake him. "C'mon, Krillin, wake up!"

"He'll be fine, kid." Gohan knew that voice better than anyone. He turned to see Piccolo standing in the main building's entryway.

"Oh, hi, Piccolo. Are you sure? I mean, it doesn't usually take this long…"

Piccolo flashed one of his rare smiles at the boy in front of him. "Yes, I'm sure. He just needs to rest now is all. You should take him home." And with that, he re-entered the building, leaving Gohan and Dende alone.

Gohan bent down and picked Krillin up again. "Well, I guess I better get him home." He turned and smiled at Dende. "It was nice seeing you guys again. Maybe next time we visit, it'll be under better circumstances."

Dende returned the smile. "I'd like that. Goodbye, Gohan!"

"Bye!" Gohan then slowly lifted off the platform, still oblivious to the fact that he was being followed.

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Vegeta was flying over a heavily forested area, trying his best to get home. His stomach, however was still causing him extreme pain, causing his flight pattern to falter. He still couldn't figure out how that little shrimp had been able to cause him this much damage, but the fact remained that he did.

Suddenly, Vegeta felt an extreme wave of pain and nausea wash over him, and he dropped from the sky like a rock. He tried to stop himself, but the best he could manage was to slow his descent. When he finally came to rest on the forest floor, he still made a rather large thud on the ground.

He rolled over clutching his midsection, wincing from the pain. Suddenly, he couldn't hold back anymore, and he felt his stomach heave. After the deed was done, Vegeta notice rather grimly what he had vomited up right before he slipped into unconsciousness.

Blood.

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Chi-Chi sat at the kitchen table, sipping her cup of tea as she waited anxiously for Gohan to return. It had been bad enough that he had taken off toward a fight, but now he'd been gone for well over two hours. Roshi and Oolong had tried to reassure her, said that Gohan was the strongest guy on the planet, that he could take care of anything that happened. Easy for them to say! It wasn't their baby running off and getting himself into potentially life-threatening situations.

Chi-Chi's thoughts were interrupted by a rather urgent thumping on the door. Oolong ran over to open it, going on some tirade about people interrupting his show and stood in the doorway in utter shock. Chi-Chi walked into the room to see what was so held the pig's interest -though she shuddered at the possibilities, given his personality- and gasped at what she saw.

There on the other side of the door stood Gohan, holding an unconscious Krillin in his arms.

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18 flew up to the island and landed on the roof as quietly as she could, trying her best to listen to the voices coming from within the house. She could hear the voice of the boy, an old man, some other unknown male, and… a woman?! She felt another annoying and unexplainable twinge of jealousy, but managed to reign it in. Why should she care if Krillin had a woman in his house? It didn't matter any to her.

She focused harder on the voices inside the house trying to decipher what they were saying…

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Chi-Chi was half hysterical. She rushed over to the door, literally throwing Oolong out of the way. "Gohan! Is he alright?! What happened! Who did this?!" She stepped aside, allowing her son to enter the house. As he passed, however, she noticed a rather solemn look on his face. He stopped at the stairway before finally answering.

"He'll be fine, Mom. He just needs to sleep." He then proceeded to carry his friend up the stairs and into his room.

Roshi finally spoke up. Chi-Chi, you need to calm down. He'll be fine, you'll see."

It was then that she noticed she was shaking, her fists clenched so tightly that her knuckles were turning white. She took a deep breath and relaxed her hands, trying to steady herself. Finally, she spoke. "I'm going up there. I have to make sure he'll be okay."

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Gohan laid his friend down in his bed and pulled the blanket up over him. 'Piccolo said he'd be fine,' he said to himself. 'He just needs some sleep is all.' He looked up at the window, and for a second he could've sworn he saw something… yellow move past. He quickly dismissed the thought and pulled a chair out of the guest room to sit down by Krillin's bed, determined to stay there until he woke up.

A few more minutes passed, and he had just started to doze off in his chair, when he felt a hand rest gently on his shoulder.

"Gohan," he heard his mother say, "why don't you go to bed? I'll stay here and wait."

He turned and looked up at his mother. At first he was going to object, but the look in his mother's eyes left little room for argument. Besides, he was feeling pretty worn out after what had gone earlier. And so, reluctantly and with a sigh, he walked out of Krillin's room toward the room in which they were staying.

Chi-Chi sat down in the chair, and took one of Krillin's hands in hers. She had to be there when he woke up. She and Krillin needed to have a long talk, and she was determined to have it.

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18 looked into the bedroom from her vantage point on the roof, and a scowl crossed her face. She had no idea who this woman was, but she decided she didn't like her one bit. She saw the dark-haired woman take Krillin's hand and felt the jealousy returning. 'That should be me in there!'

She quickly sat back on the roof, her eyes wide in shock. Why in the world had she thought that?! Why did she care if there was another woman with him? It wasn't like she had any sort of feelings for the little man.

Or did she?

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_OOOOH, it looks like we have some sparks forming here, people! What do you think? Does 18 have reason to be jealous? _

_Also. I'm thinking of writing another story in addition to this one. It's an A/U, so I was wondering if you lovely people WHO ACTUALLY REVIEW would like to see that happen? Just let me know, okay? See ya next time!_

_P.S. Sorry this took so long to post, but the site was being gay! I've been trying for almost a week! But now, here it is! Enjoy!_


	10. Chapter 10

-1**One Good Reason**

_I'm back! I know a lot of you people (most of whom aren't reviewing!-hint hint-) have been waiting for this, so here goes. And here's a spoiler alert: there's a kiss coming up, and you won't believe who it involves. Could it be Krillin and 18? Krillin and Chi-Chi? Bulma and Vegeta? Piccolo and Vegeta? Okay, that last one was pushing it, but hey… Anyways, guess what? I've broken the fifty review mark! And this story isn't even half done yet! Cool, ain't it? But enough about me, let's focus on our stars: a group of fictional characters that have absolutely no bearing on the real world! But, that's why we love 'em._

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**Chapter 10**

Vegeta began to stir from his rest and groaned. He had no idea how long he'd been out and more importantly, he had no idea where he was. All he knew was he had passed out somewhere over the woods after… A smirk came to his face at the memory of what had transpired, but was quickly replaced with a grimace, as a shockwave of pain erupted from his mid-section. That little freak had messed him up pretty badly. Vegeta rolled over and noticed that he was still outside, the sun just starting to rise over the treetops above him. He was struck suddenly by another wave of nausea, and once again vomited upon the ground. And once again, the world around him began to fade to black. He managed to stay awake long enough to note that there was someone standing over him. He forced himself to look up in an attempt to put a face to the feet before him, and his eyes went wide with shock.

"You…," he managed to gasp out. He found himself staring into the last face he wanted to see at that moment.

Android 17 smirked down at him. "Well, fancy meeting you here, your highness." His tone changed into one of mock concern. "Gee you don't look so good. What happened to you?"

Vegeta didn't reply. He had already passed out, his last thought being one of dread as to what this Android might do to him.

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Bulma sat in her kitchen, sipping at a mug of coffee. She hadn't been sleeping well lately, not since Vegeta had taken off three days earlier. That look he had given her had scared her and she knew that whatever he was going to do, it couldn't be good. She also knew that the deed had already been done, as she had felt his euphoria when it had happened.

She felt a twinge of disappointment at the thought. She'd really thought that Vegeta had gotten over his need to be destructive and here he was going off on some 'hunt'. For the last three days, she'd done nothing but keep an eye on the news, waiting to hear about the path of destruction he would carve, but she'd heard nothing until last night, when a report came in that some island had been 'mysteriously demolished'. She knew right away that he'd been responsible.

Shortly after that though, she suddenly felt him… fade, as if her bond with him was weakening. After that she had begun to worry. She hadn't felt him dip this low since the whole deal with Cell and she couldn't help wondering what could've done this to him.

Bulma was pulled from her thoughts by a knock at her door. She placed her half empty coffee mug on the table and walked over to answer it, wondering who in the world would know to knock on THAT door. She was totally unprepared for what was on the other side.

There in front of her stood Gohan and Chi-Chi, which was no real surprise. They came for visits all the time, as well as for checkups for Chi-Chi and her baby. What WAS shocking, however, was the fact that Gohan was carrying an unconscious Krillin.

"Oh, my gosh, what happened?!"

Gohan just stepped into the house and uttered a single word. "Vegeta."

Bulma's look changed almost instantaneously from shock to anger mixed with sorrow. 'So that's what he did?' she thought. She looked to Chi-Chi, hoping for a better explanation. Instead, Chi-Chi just shrugged her shoulders.

"I'm sorry, Bulma. He won't really tell me what happened, either. All I know is that there was some kind of big fight." She paused for a moment before she continued. "I hope you don't mind if we bring Krillin here to see you. He could really use some medical help."

Bulma looked at Krillin. He looked okay to her. As far as she could tell, he was just… out. Other than that… "What's wrong with him?" she asked.

Gohan spoke up. "Well, after what happened he was pretty messed up, so I took him to see Dende. Dende healed him, but he didn't wake up and Piccolo told me that he just needed rest, but he's been having nightmares a lot, and when he does wake up, he's in a lot of pain…"

Bulma held up her hand. "Say no more. I've got just the thing to help. Take him up to one of the empty rooms and I'll be there in a sec."

Gohan smiled at her. "Thanks, Bulma."

She returned his smile. "No big deal."

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A few minutes later, Bulma arrived in the room with a syringe in her hands. Gohan turned away as she injected its contents into Krillin's arm; needles were something neither he nor his father was too fond of, though his father tended to be rather extreme in that area. He snapped out of his little trance when he heard Bulma speak.

"Okay, I've given him a mild sedative. It should help him to sleep without any nightmares, and help with the pain, too. For now, though, I think he should stay here at C.C., at least until he's feeling better." Bulma smiled a little. "Especially since he'll be a little doped up when he wakes up. He might be a little confused to wake up in a place different from where he fell asleep, so one of you should probably stay here."

"I'll do it," Gohan said.

Chi-Chi stood up in front of him, hands on hips. "Oh, no you won't. You'll be staying with your grandpa for a while. I won't allow you to miss any more schoolwork, young man! I'll stay."

Gohan hung his head and pouted a little. He didn't want to do homework, not when Krillin was… well, he'd be okay, but still… No, no excuses this time. He silently cursed the effect his mother had had on his mind. It seemed to do all her arguing for her these days. "Fine," he said, "I'll go to Grandpa's house. But promise you'll tell me when he wakes up."

Chi-Chi smiled at her son. "I promise. Now get going or you won't be there by dinner time."

Gohan smiled broadly at the mention of food, as he hadn't eaten in the last couple days. "Okay. Bye, Bulma."

Bulma smiled back and waved as he left the room. "See ya kiddo. Have fun!"

After Gohan had left, Bulma turned to Chi-Chi and noticed for the first time what she was wearing. "Uh, Chi-Chi? If you don't mind my asking, why are you dressed like that?"

Chi-Chi looked down at the floor and blushed. Why did everyone feel the need to comment on her wardrobe? "To be honest, Bulma, yes I do mind. It isn't really anyone's business how I dress."

"Geeze, sorry. It just seems strange. I mean, here you are, dressed to impress, and I just wondered why. If you don't want to tell me, fine, but it was just an innocent question."

Chi-Chi rubbed her temples and sighed. "I know. I'm sorry; it's just that it seems that everyone I talk to lately keeps asking me that. It gets frustrating, you know?"

Bulma stood up. "Yeah, I guess. Well, I've got work to do yet today, so I guess I'll leave you two alone." She winked playfully as she walked out. "You behave yourselves, now."

Chi-Chi's eyes flew wide and Bulma laughed at the sight before finally exiting the doorway, leaving behind a stunned Chi-Chi, who couldn't help but wonder how much, if anything, Bulma knew about her intentions.

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Another several hours passed before Chi-Chi had finally gotten bored. One could hardly blame her; she was in a guest room with nothing to do, and all Bulma could offer as reading material were gossip magazines and romance novels… or tech manuals. Chi-Chi had read all the magazines, tried the romance novels but stopped as they reminded her of how lonely she was lately, and the tech manuals… well, they weren't an option. So there she sat, hands resting on her swollen middle. Apparently the baby was even bored stiff, as it's movements were minimal and sluggish. She sighed, thinking about the baby was making her think of Goku, and she couldn't help but wonder. Would he have changed his mind had he known about this? She liked to think he would have. She sighed again, reminded of just how much she missed him. Normally she was a strong woman, but now she felt vulnerable. She needed someone.

She was soon pulled from her thoughts, however, when she heard Krillin begin to stir in his bed. Sure enough, he was waking up, and she held her breath, hoping that the pain killer would work.

Krillin sat up in his bed and looked around his room. Soon, however, he realized that this was not his room. He was in a strange place and to make matters worse, his head was swimming. He couldn't make out definite shapes and he felt incredibly light headed and giddy. Very strange, considering what had happened to him. He was still very tired and half asleep, though. That, he noted was more like it.

He took another look around and noticed that he was not alone in this place. There was someone else. A woman, but he wasn't sure who. He watched as the mystery woman got up out of her chair and walked over and sat on the edge of his bed. "Good," came a familiar voice, "you're awake."

Krillin's still swimming head and blurry eyes tried to make out who it was, when suddenly a name seemed to pop into his head

18? He smiled at the woman he believed to be 18. "You waited for me?" he asked.

Chi-Chi looked shocked. Why had he seemed so shocked? "Of course," she said. "Why wouldn't I?"

Krillin smiled at her. He didn't speak, didn't move, nothing. Just smiled a big, dopey smile at her. Then he leaned forward and did something that took her completely by surprise.

He kissed her.

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Bulma had been sitting in her living room, waiting to hear some kind of news on Vegeta. Sure, she was still worried, but she knew, as he would constantly remind her, that he was perfectly capable of taking care of himself. Besides, she was more than a little mad at him for what had happened, especially after seeing and hearing about Krillin's previous condition. She couldn't be sure, but she had a feeling that he was the cause of it.

The thought of Krillin's condition brought her back to reality. She looked at her watch and realized that it had been over two hours since she looked in on him and Chi-Chi. She figured that it was time she paid them a visit. Besides, if he was awake she might be able to find out what had happened with him and Vegeta.

She made her way up the stairs and through the third door on the left, which was the room Krillin was currently occupying, and gasped at what she saw.

Krillin and Chi-Chi were sitting on the bed, arms wrapped around each other, their lips locked in what she would call a VERY passionate kiss.

Bulma quickly and quietly shut the door and slumped down to the floor of the hall. "Wow. That was awkward."

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_Kind of a sucky place to end, I know. But I don't really want to go any further in this chapter. Well, what did you think? Were you expecting that? Was it too weird? Let me know what you think._


	11. Chapter 11

**One Good Reason**

_I'm BAAACK! So, where was I? Oh, yeah, I was giving people upset stomachs with the last chapter's ending. Believe me, it wasn't easy to write, either! But keep in mind that he's kinda doped up at the moment. And also keep in mind that I'm trying to keep everyone in character, but also show a more vulnerable, human side to them that would have been exposed after a major life-changing event like Goku's death. Just relax, people, you won't be scarred for life. Everyone will be back to their normal selves by the end of they story. So, here goes the next chapter!_

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**Chapter 11**

Chi-Chi quickly withdrew herself from Krillin's embrace. What was she doing? This was so wrong; first of all, he was not himself. Anything that he was doing, he had no knowledge of. Plus, she couldn't help but feel that she was betraying Goku's memory by doing this.

She watched Krillin's reaction as he realized that she had pulled away. It shifted from confusion to hurt to… disgust! Apparently the effects of the drug had worn off. "Chi-Chi?! What the…?" He jumped off the bed and headed toward the nearest bathroom as if the Devil himself were chasing him.

Chi-Chi just humphed to herself as she too left the room. "Well, talk about bruising one's ego!"

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Krillin was digging through the medicine cabinet in the bathroom, searching desperately for one of Bulma's many spare toothbrushes that she kept handy. What in the world was he doing?! That was just…wrong! Sure, Chi-Chi was real pretty and all, but she was Goku's wife! That ran akin to kissing his sister!

Finally, he found the object of his search and tore it from it's packaging, not bothering with toothpaste at the moment as he began to furiously scrub at his teeth. 'What was I thinking?! Okay, think, what was I doing right before that happened? Oh, yeah…' He began to blush slightly. 'I was dreaming about 18.'

Krillin spat the contents of his mouth into the sink and grabbed the cup sitting on the edge of the sink to rinse his mouth. As he swished the water around in his mouth, a single thought crossed his mind. 'But why didn't she pull away sooner?'

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As Chi-Chi mad her way down the stairs, she was greeted by Bulma sitting in the living room, a rather smug look on her face. "I see you didn't take my advice."

Chi-Chi was blushing, though no one could tell as her face was still flustered from what had gone on before. "I'm sure I have no idea what you're talking about."

"I saw, Chi. Now spill! What exactly were you thinking?!"

Chi-Chi sat down on the sofa. "That's the problem. I didn't, I just caved." She placed her head in her hands. "I really don't know why. All I did was try to apologize for what I said before, and then… boom, this happens!"

Bulma sat up a little straighter. "Did you get things worked out?"

Chi-Chi smiled lightly. "Yeah. I had a talk with him before we brought him here. He's a pretty understanding guy. And sweet."

Bulma smirked at her. "Yeah, well from the look on your face, I'd say he was a pretty good kisser, too."

"Bulma!"

Bulma laughed. "Relax. You're not the first person this happened to."

Chi-Chi tilted her head slightly at the blue haired woman in front of her. "What do you mean?"

"The same thing happened to me."

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18 approached the building with caution. She knew that the boy and the woman had brought him here, but judging from the size of this place, she had no idea where to start looking. She figured the best way would be to float around until she found him.

As she passed the windows of the upper levels, she saw little to hold her interest; few employees would be hanging around on a Sunday. Only the occasional room was occupied, usually by someone who appeared to be of the housekeeping persuasion. Finally, somewhere on the second floor, a lone light could be seen shining out one of the windows. 18 was drawn to that light as if it were the only one shining in the universe. Somehow she knew he would be there.

Her confidence dwindled, however, when she got close enough to see the type of room he was in. A bathroom. How was she supposed to go in there? It would be a complete invasion of his privacy.

She looked in on him and saw that he was simply standing in front of the sink, on a step stool, she noted with slight amusement. She also noted that what clothing he had on was extremely tattered and torn, bringing back unpleasant memories of what had happened that day on the island… Suddenly, something in the back of her mind snapped. 'He's in possession of something, something I want,' she thought. She climbed in through the window. 'And I'm going to have it!'

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Chi-Chi practically flew up out of her chair. "WHAT?!"

Bulma just smiled at her. 'You heard me. The same thing that happened to you happened to me."

"You mean you…?"

"Yep."

"With Krillin?"

"Yep."

Chi-Chi sat down hard and took a deep breath. "Please tell me that's all you did."

"Well…"

"You're kidding!"

Bulma laughed again. "Calm down! I didn't do THAT! Though I have to admit it wasn't by my choice."

Chi-Chi just stared at the woman in front of her, her mouth hanging slightly open. "I-I don't believe this! How… when? When did this happen?"

"Long story."

"I've got time."

Bulma sighed. She hadn't really wanted to go into the gory details, but there was no turning back now.

"Well, it happened only a little while after we landed on Namek. We had just gotten settled into that little house we'd set up in the cave and things seemed to be going fine for the first few days. Well, other than being hunted by Frieza's goons, anyway.

"One night, though, the time had rolled around for mine and Yamcha's anniversary. I don't even know which one, we broke up so many times, but it was one nonetheless. I'd been feeling sorry for myself that night. My boyfriend was dead, I was being hunted by monsters, I was on a strange planet far away from my family… and, like an idiot, I'd been hitting the beer pretty heavy. I never should have brought that stuff anyway.

"Well, out of the blue, I started crying. I mean out and out bawling. I guess Krillin must have heard, because he came into my room. He asked me what was wrong, and I just kinda threw my arms around the guy and started telling him how much I missed Yamcha." Bulma looked down at her feet. "I don't think that was too easy for him to listen to, either. I mean, I kinda knew he had a little crush on me, so hearing me tell him how much I missed another guy couldn't have been pleasant. I was expecting him to get mad, but he didn't. He just held me, listening to what I had to say, telling me it was gonna be okay.

"I don't know exactly what started it, like I said, I was kinda drunk. But he was holding me, rocking me; he took away that lonely feeling. Add to that the fact that he was unintentionally blowing in my ear and, well…" She sighed. "I kissed him. Didn't stop there either; before I even realized it I had him pinned under me, and I was rubbing-"

"WHOA!" Chi-Chi raised a hand. "WAY too much information."

Bulma smiled a small, embarrassed smile. "Um, anyway, to make a long story short, he stopped me right about there. Said I was drunk and that he couldn't take advantage of that and he left. He looked like he was about to cry, though. Seems like the only time he can get a woman interested in him is when they're vulnerable, but he's too much of a gentleman to take advantage of that. Poor guy."

Chi-Chi sat silent for a moment, appearing to be deep in thought. A small smile began to make its way across her face. "Maybe we can fix that."

Before Bulma could ask her what she meant, the women were interrupted by a knock at the door. Bulma stood and walked over to answer it. "That's odd. I'm not expecting any-" she was struck silent by what she saw. There on the other side of her door stood Android 17. "Oh, my…"

Chi-Chi walked over to the door in an attempt to see what had managed to stun Bulma into silence. She wasn't too pleased with what she saw. "WHAT is HE doing here?!"

17 looked at the women with mild amusement as Bulma had to restrain Chi-Chi from rushing out at him. Finally, when the amusement had died, he raised his hand, which held a limp Vegeta firmly by the back of his armor. "I believe this belongs to you."

Bulma kneeled down and gently ran her hand down Vegeta's cheek. She gasped when she saw the dried blood at the corners of his mouth and the rather large puncture in the front of his armor. She was seriously beginning to regret some of the things she'd thought earlier.

Without a word, 17 pushed past the two women into the living room and set Vegeta rather unceremoniously on the couch. He looked up to find a very angry Chi-Chi staring at him.

"Did you do this to him?" she asked.

17 placed his hand over his heart. "Madam, you wound me," he said as he rolled his eyes. "He was like that when I found him."

"Why didn't you kill him?"

He was about to reply when he felt… something, a mysterious, familiar presence very close. He shook it off and answered. "Oh, come on. I don't kill things that are about to die anyway."

He began to walk out the door, knowing full well how his words had sacred Bulma. "Besides," he called over his shoulder before flying off, "where's the fun in that?"

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_Well, that seems as good a place as any to end it. And you thought what happened between Krillin and Chi-Chi was weird! But there are hints in the series of there being something between Krillin and Bulma when they were on Namek, an angle that few people have ever explored. Please note that I'm in no way trying to detract from either Goku and Chi-Chi's or Vegeta and Bulma's relationships, I'm just stating what may have happened. But, on to the important question: what does 18 want from Krillin? And what do Bulma and Chi-Chi have planned for him? We'll just have to see next chapter, won't we? Also, Krillin's entire past will soon be revealed, so stick around! Until next time: See Ya!_


	12. Chapter 12

**One Good Reason**

_Yes, after nearly a month, I've decided to update this. Thanks to everybody who kept reading after the infamous "chapter 10". As I've said, it was awkward to write, too. Then came the next chapter and, seeing as nobody really complained about the kinda-pairing info I put in it, I can only assume that you've all either adjusted or were actually intrigued. Either way, no more funky pairing stuff, I promise! Well, a little bit, but only in a certain someone's mind. That said, here comes the next chap._

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**Chapter 12**

As he stood in front of the bathroom sink, Krillin began to search his mind for an answer as to the reason Chi-Chi hadn't pulled away sooner. Usually, something like that would result in a sharp slap from someone like her. But the fact remained, she hadn't done either; in fact, it seemed she had almost… enjoyed it? That was a road that his tired mind didn't care to venture down, not yet anyway.

He was spared having to think anymore, however, when he heard the sound of the bathroom window sliding open. He turned to see what in the world was causing it, jokingly wondering if it was Goku's ghost come back to kill him for touching his wife. But, as the person responsible entered through the now-open portal, he knew that it CERTAINLY wasn't Goku. Unless Goku had suddenly become a very curvy blonde…

His brain suddenly snapped back into action as he realized what was happening: there standing in the shower, arms crossed in front of her, was 18. At this realization, he fought hard against the blush that rose to his cheeks; this was a similar setting to his earlier dream, though a certain few factors weren't in place this time.

18 moved from her stance in the shower and walked over to Krillin. Without saying a word, she grabbed him by his shirt collar and hauled him off his feet, effectively pinning him against the wall. Krillin began to sweat; he certainly was nervous now. And, he admitted silently, excited in a rather embarrassing way. He watched as she regarded him, seemingly looking him over, as if searching for something before she finally spoke.

"Listen up, little man. You've got something I want. Now, are you going to give it to me, or do I take it?"

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As he slowly slipped back into consciousness, Vegeta could feel his head swimming and his midsection burning. 'Well,' he thought, 'at least it's not as bad as before. I swear, if I have to deal with that little freak again, I'll-'. His thoughts were interrupted as another wave of nausea swept over him and he was faced with the choice of sit up or throw up. He chose the former, sitting bolt upright on the couch, where he was greeted by an embrace from… the brat? What was HE doing here? As he pried the little child off him, he took stock of his surroundings and finally noticed that he was in his own living room. 'How did I get here?' he wondered. -Let's just say you were brought here by a mutual acquaintance-, came a voice from within his own mind. A voice he knew all too well.

'WOMAN! HOW MANY TIMES MUST I TELL MYOU TO STAY OUT OF MY HEAD?!' He was fuming now; he had made it very clear to Bulma that there was only ONE time he would ever allow her to enter his thoughts, and this CERTAINLY wasn't it.

Bulma marched into the room, a frown upon her face. "Well, EXCUSE ME, mister 'shut everyone out unless I'm feeling horny', but YOU marked me, so now YOU DEAL WITH IT!!"

Vegeta's face returned to its usual scowl. "Whatever, woman. Just take the brat." He held little Trunks out to her, who smiled as he reached for his mommy.

"Ma, Da uppie!" he said, obviously quite proud of himself for giving the news to his mother. Bulma smiled at him before placing him on the floor. "I can see that. Why don't you go see Grandma in the kitchen? I'm sure she'll have a surprise for you."

Trunks squealed with excitement at the thought of one of Grandma's 'surprises' and toddled off into the next room. Once he was gone, Vegeta spoke again. "That was stupid of you woman. You left the brat unattended. For all you know, he could've gotten himself killed out here!"

"For your information, monkey-man, I was right in the next room! I knew what was going on and I certainly would've known if he was in trouble. Geeze, you act like it's a crime for him to want to see his dad!" Bulma then sat down in the chair across from the couch. "That matter aside, you and I need to have a little talk."

Vegeta shot her the most threatening glance he could muster. "This, woman, is why you're not allowed in my head."

"Riiight. Well, suffice it to say I know what you did. What, may I ask, were you thinking? You tried to kill Krillin! Why?"

"He got between me and my prey. Had ha any sort of sense, he would've gotten out of the way and let me-"

"And what was your 'prey', mister? Huh? A girl. An Android girl, but a girl nonetheless. Why in the world would you kill her when she hasn't made so much as a single noise to cause trouble? For crying out loud, you almost killed two people just to satisfy your own ego! What's WRONG with you?!"

"Nothing is wrong with me, woman. You just need to learn to mind your own business. Now leave me alone."

Bulma stood up again, hands on her hips. "I'm sorry, Vegeta, but I'm afraid I can't do that. You, sir, are going to apologize right now."

"WHAT?!" Vegeta almost leapt off the couch. "ARE YOU INSANE?! I AM THE PRINCE OF ALL SAIYANS! I DO NOT APOLOGIZE!"

Chi-Chi chose that moment to enter the room. "Well, I guess I did hear him right. Looks like Vegeta's up."

Bulma looked over at her. "Heard who right?"

"Trunks told me," she replied. "Although, I was a bit ticked off at his new name he decided to call me."

Bulma glared down at a smirking Vegeta. "And what, pray tell, did he call you?"

"Well, his exact words were, 'Da uppie. You get outa 'ouse, 'arpy!'" Chi-Chi glared at him as well. "I wonder who could've taught him that?"

Vegeta continued smirking at the two. "Don't look at me. The kid calls 'em like he sees 'em."

Bulma sighed as she began to rub her temples. "I swear, when this is all over, you and I are gonna have a LONG talk. But, in the meantime, you ARE going to apologize to Krillin."

Vegeta's smirk widened. "And what if I refuse? Who's gonna make me?"

Bulma's face became contorted with anger before her own smug little smirk appeared on her face. "Oh, you'll do it all right," she said. "Otherwise, you won't be getting any -" her words trailed off as she sent Vegeta some rather graphic mental pictures of exactly what WOULDN'T happen again if he didn't apologize.

After the initial shock wore off, Vegeta's face became one of a man torn between his pride and his hormones. After a few more seconds, he finally relented. "Fine, I'll do it. But if you ever embarrass me in front of anyone EVER again…"

Bulma sighed. "Yeah, yeah, I've heard it a million times. Now come on, let's go."

"What do you mean, 'let's go'? I don't need a babysitter!"

Bulma rolled her eyes at the man. "I'm not stupid Vegeta. I know you well enough to tell that you'll just lie and say you did and worry about the consequences later. We're coming with you and that's final."

Vegeta was quickly becoming exasperated. "Great, now I have to deal with the harpy as well. This is just terrific."

Bulma placed a hand on his back, practically shoving him up the stairs in front of her. "Quit griping and just do it."

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18 was beginning to get impatient; she had told the little man why she was here, and he STILL wouldn't give her what she wanted. Finally, she dropped him to his feet and walked over to the toilet, taking a seat as she waited for him to speak.

Krillin hauled himself up onto his feet and dusted his bottom off before speaking. "So, you want your answers, huh?"

18 rolled her eyes. "Duh. Isn't that what I said?"

He seemed to think for a moment before speaking again. "Well, um… maybe this isn't the best place to talk about this. Why don't we go somewhere else? Bulma set me up in one of the bedrooms. We can talk there if you want."

18 raised an eyebrow at him. "The bedroom, huh?"

Krillin immediately began to blush like mad and tried to stutter out an explanation. "I-I didn't mean it like that! I j-just thought that maybe… uh, maybe it would be more comfortable than sitting in this room. I mean, that toilet isn't exactly the best seat in the house, ya know?"

18 sighed slightly; she had to admit, this wasn't exactly the most comfortable place to sit. "I suppose you're right. Fine, we'll go." She shot him a warning glance. "But if you try anything, you'll never walk right again, got it?"

He sighed with relief, in spite of her threat. At least she wasn't gonna kill him for suggesting it. "Don't worry about me. I'm not THAT stupid."

After a few minutes of silence 18 spoke again. "Well, are you gonna tell me?"

Krillin hung his head slightly and debated with himself as to what he should say. He knew he couldn't just blurt out 'I'm in love with you'; that was almost guaranteed death right there. 'Here goes nothing', he thought. "Okay, you wanted to know why I helped you?" He waited for her to nod before he continued. "Well, I guess… I just didn't want to see you die for something you couldn't help. I mean, sure you were after Goku for a while, but that was only because you guys didn't know what else to do. I guess it was in your … uh, programming, I guess would be the proper term. But that was moot; Goku got better and wound up MORE than strong enough to defend himself. And even if he hadn't, Piccolo was, so that wasn't anything to worry about. And then, with Cell, it wasn't as if you intended to be part of that… thing. And Vegeta and Trunks were strong enough to stop him, so I figured that there wasn't any need to… push that button."

18 closed her eyes, appearing to be deep in thought. She stayed that way for several minutes before asking "What about after that? What about when Vegeta intended to let monster take me? Why did you defend me?"

'Oh boy,' he thought. 'Why did she have to ask that?' "Well, like I said, none of it was your fault. I wasn't about to just let him take you, not when there was a chance for you to live a normal life."

She raised an eyebrow at his answer. "I see. So it had nothing to do with the crush the kid said you had on me?"

Now he was in trouble, as he once again began to squirm and stutter, trying to deny the fact that it was actually the foremost reason for his actions. 18 noticed this and smiled slightly, turning her head in hopes that he couldn't see her blushing as well. Much as she hated to admit it, she'd sort of had one on him as well. Still did, as a matter of fact. But… it was so childish! There was no way she could feel that way. No one else had ever made her feel that way that she could remember, so why did this man make her feel…?

"Um, is that all?"

The sound of his voice brought her back to reality and she felt slightly embarrassed. Another thought soon struck her, however. "Not quite," she replied, a smirk coming to rest on her lips. "You still have one thing that belongs to me."

Krillin scratched the back of his head. What did she mean something that belonged to her? He'd already answered all her questions…

A memory of that evening on the island floated back into his mind, and he fervently began to hope that wasn't what she wanted. "Uh, what do you mean?"

18 walked over and sat next to him on the bed. She looked at him and smiled a small, almost embarrassed smile. The most beautiful smile he'd ever seen. "You still owe me that kiss."

She noticed that the little man next to her began to shake slightly and began to grow worried. What if he was repulsed by the thought of actually kissing her? What if he didn't like it? Or worse: what if he did? 'Well,' she told herself, 'only one way to find out. Besides, if nothing else, I suppose this could be a way to say thank-you.'

She looked deep into his eyes and leaned forward as he did the same. Their lips mere centimeters apart, he hesitated for a moment, as if he were having second thoughts. She was content to let him linger, but only for a moment, as she began to grow impatient and closed the gap between them, pressing her lips against his.

At that moment, 18 understood why Krillin had said it was too hard to describe. It was… amazing! Wonderful. Arousing, even. As these feelings poured through her, she began to realize that she had been kissing him far longer than intended. She thought that maybe she should pull away, but something inside her took the opposite route. She knew this wasn't going to be ending anytime soon.

And frankly, she didn't care.

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"I'm not going in there."

Bulma was getting very irritated. "Vegeta, do you happen to remember exactly what was going to happen if you decided NOT to do this? Hmm?"

Vegeta growled deep within his throat and shot a glare at Chi-Chi, who was shaking from silent laughter. "What, may I ask, is so funny?"

Chi-Chi took a moment to regain her composure before replying. "I just think it's amusing the way Bulma has you wrapped around her little finger, that's all. My Goku was the same way; all I had to do was threaten to stop cooking and poof, he did what I wanted. And when that didn't work…"

Vegeta turned to Bulma, a look of panic mixed with disgust apparent on his face. "Fine! I'll do it! Just don't let her finish that sentence!"

Bulma smiled at Chi-Chi, who responded with a wink. "Alright, Vegeta. Chi-Chi promises she won't scar you with stories of her and Goku's sex life."

That statement seemed to cause something inside Vegeta to snap, as he cringed and began shaking, eliciting a laugh from both of the women. Bulma's merriment was cut short, however, when she heard a strange noise coming from inside Krillin's room. Leaving Vegeta to his shattered thoughts and Chi-Chi to her laughter, she opened the door slightly and peeked inside. Her eyes flew wide as she took in the sight of the two occupants of the room and she quickly shut the door. "Wow, he moves fast."

Chi-Chi stopped her laughing and looked at her friend, whose eyes were still wide from the shock of what she'd just seen. "Bulma? Hello? What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Krillin's just making out with the Android girl."

Chi-Chi's eyes widened for a moment before she seemed to just dismiss it as if it were nothing. "Oh, her. She must have followed us."

"What do you mean, followed you?"

"Well, I guess she thought we couldn't see her, but she was sitting outside Krillin's window at his house for almost the entire time after Gohan brought him back. It was weird, though. She kept shooting me these death glares. I guess we know why now."

Bulma's attention, however, was diverted to the fact that Vegeta was nowhere in the vicinity. He'd apparently run off while they'd been distracted. "Figures. Oh, well. C'mon, Chi, we'd better break those two up in there. At the rate they're going, someone's gonna end up pregnant."

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_Well, that's all for now. Hope some people enjoy this. Don't forget to review! See Ya!_


	13. Chapter 13: Oops

_Hey. I'm just posting this because some people aren't able to review the chap I just posted because I deleted a previous one. Thus, the chapter 13 became chapter 12, and some people already reviewed it, so they can't review now… yeah. Well, here's a place to review_


	14. Chapter 14

**One Good Reason**

_Considering the fact that I haven't touched this in nearly a month, I figure it's a bout time I gave it some love. So I decided to update it! Besides, with all the bashing these two receive, I figure it's high time they got the spotlight again! How many y'all love this fic?! Don't be afraid to let me know it. Even if it's just to say 'I like it', please do! I like to know if people like what I put out, so all passive readers, please start reviewing. Thanks_

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**Chapter 14**

Krillin was in heaven. He must've died on that island, and now he was in paradise. He had to've died; there was no other explanation for what was happening to him now. No way would a woman be clinging to him, kissing him like there was no tomorrow, let alone the most beautiful woman in the universe. It was a dream come true.

But, as much as it was pleasant, he also couldn't help but feel that this was wrong. Part of his mind was screaming at him, telling him not to let go of his reason. After all, wasn't this just an experiment to her? It wasn't like it actually meant something to her. Did it?

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18 wasn't so sure herself what exactly was happening here. This had started as an experiment, a means of finding out exactly why the little man was so captivated by a simple peck on the cheek. Kissing hadn't seemed such a big deal from the P.O.V. of an observer. In fact, the prospect of sharing saliva with another being had seemed quite disgusting.

But now, the way he was holding her, touching her, it was... addictive. It seemed no matter how intense she became, no matter how close he held her, she wanted more.

Whatever that might be.

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Vegeta was quite pleased with himself. Not only had he managed to get out of lowering himself to the level of 'apologizing' as the woman called it, but he also managed to find an entire tray of cookies baked by the woman's mother left unguarded. Vegeta cringed at the thought of the blonde haired Mrs. Briefs. Even if that dingy blonde wasn't good for much else than to look nice, at least she could cook. Otherwise, he might've blasted her out of annoyance ages ago.

As he made his way out of the kitchen with his newfound treasure, he suddenly felt that one of his legs was heavier than the other. Looking down, he saw a rather perturbed little demi-Saiyan holding onto his father's leg. Trunks reached a chubby arm up to his father and flexed his fingers in anticipation "Da! Wan' choca 'ookie!"

Vegeta simply shrugged and thought to himself, 'If the boy wants these, he'll just have to earn them.' He pretended to ignore him as he continued to munch on his cookie stash. Trunks began to grow impatient and started tugging on his father's boot, still trying to achieve his goal of 'Gamma's choca 'ookies'. "Da! Give choca 'ookie!"

Vegeta continued to ignore him as he ate, making the lavender haired toddler even more determined to get at the cookies. So much so that he started climbing his father's leg, latching little fingers onto what few places there were in his father's spandex that could account for handholds. He ran out at about thigh level, however, and attempted one last time to appeal to his father. "DA! WANT CHOCA 'OOKIE NOW!"

When Vegeta ignored him yet again, the toddler decided to resort to his ultimate weapon.

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If Krillin ever doubted he was in heaven before, he was convinced now. At some point in time 18 had decided to take charge of the situation, her kisses becoming more insistent, her hands traveling to places that made him blush just to think about. Now, she had pinned him beneath her on the bed as her lips left his and began to approach his neck as he responded in kind-

The sound of someone clearing their throat made the two suddenly stop and move away from each other, 18 sitting straight up and Krillin accidentally rolling off the bed onto the floor. He sat up and peered over the bed to see a very smug Bulma, hands on her hips and a smile playing at her lips. "Oh, don't mind me," she said. "By all means, get to the juicy part!"

A knock sounded at the door and a more timid voice sounded from the hallway. "Uh, Bulma, is it safe to come in?"

"Define safe, Chi-Chi."

Chi-Chi stepped into the room, a hand clamped firmly over her eyes. "I mean, are they dressed?"

"Define dressed, Chi-Chi."

Chi-Chi threw her free hand into the air and shouted. "YOU KNOW FULL WELL WHAT I MEAN, BULMA BRIEFS! ARE?! THEY?! DRESSED?!"

Bulma took a step backwards. 'Wow. I forgot, never tick off the pregnant lady.' "Um, yeah," she said. "They're dressed... sorta."

It was then the two noticed their shirts had been removed and tossed into a pile across the room. 18 rushed over and grabbed hers, slipping it on as her cheeks turned red. When exactly had that happened? She had no memory of the action on either of their parts, except for one brief moment when they had broken apart, but that would only account for one...

Her cheeks flushed even brighter when she saw the condition Krillin's shirt was in. It really couldn't be called a shirt any longer, as it had been shredded into rags. Memory of that action returned; she had done that right before they had been... interrupted. Now she was somewhat thankful they had been.

Chi-Chi removed her hand from her eyes and took stock of the room: a broken lamp, an odd pile of rags at the girl's feet, and a rather mussed up bed. She couldn't quite determine how the rags fit in, but it didn't take a genius to understand what had happened in this room. Or what had almost happened, for that matter.

Her eyes returned to the girl she now knew to be Android 18. She certainly didn't see how this girl was such a threat. She didn't look any different than a normal teenage girl, though she seemed better proportioned than most her age would be. Why this girl was always glaring at her though, remained a mystery.

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18 returned the scrutinizing gaze of the dark haired woman before her. Sure enough, it was the same woman she'd seen at Krillin's house, and she was quite obviously with child. That thought struck a chord in her. What if this was indeed Krillin's girlfriend? Was that his baby she was carrying? Had she and he almost... with her in the same house?

She ran a quick check on the name with the files Dr. Gero had so 'graciously' bestowed upon her. A match appeared, and her mind was flooded with information. 'Chi-Chi: Wife of Goku-' That was Goku's wife?!

She relaxed her shoulders slightly. Well, at least it wasn't Krillin's woman or child. There was one more checkmark off her conscience. But still, she didn't really like the idea of her hanging around, especially now that she'd come to a rather important decision...

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Krillin peeped over the edge of the bed, feeling all too much like a teenager caught in the act, which he supposed he was essentially. Well, without the teenager part, anyway. He couldn't believe how far things had gone between the two of them. That hadn't happened since he and Bulma... Well, at least he and 18 hadn't gone quite THAT far yet!

He went to stand and soon found he had another problem. His pants were now down by his ankles, his belt nowhere to be found. He wasn't certain if this was a result of his last battle, the trip over to the CC, or a certain over-enthusiastic blonde. Either way, the issue was moot. There was no way he could get his pants back on without standing up, and that would only serve to further his embarrassment by giving all three ladies a perfectly good view of his shorts.

"Um, pardon me," he said, "but would you three mind turning around. I'm kinda in a bit of a jam, here."

The girls all complied as he stood and drew his pants back up around his waist. He was quite thankful that they had, too, as he'd still had another not-so-small embarrassment to worry about. If Bulma saw that, she'd never let him hear the end of it. "Okay, I'm decent."

Before anyone could say another word, 18 walked over and opened the window, proceeding to start to crawl out of it. When she was about halfway through, she turned back to face Krillin. "I assume your offer still stands?"

Krillin scratched his head. "Uh, what offer would that be?" 'Oh, I hope I didn't say anything stupid when we were-'

"Your offer of a place to stay. Does it still stand?" She smirked slightly. "Or perhaps you feel that I'm no longer needed."

His eyes went wide. "Uh, yeah, sure I... Wait, what's that supposed to mean?"

18 shook her head slightly. "Never mind, Shorty. I'm gonna take off now."

She hadn't gone ore than half a foot before Krillin called out to her. "WAIT! Uh, you should probably wait until I can come with you."

She turned back to look at him. "What? I know the way."

"I know that, but it'd probably be better if you don't show up there alone."

18 scowled slightly. "It's not as if I'm some child." She shot one last glare at Chi-Chi. "Or helpless pregnant woman."

"I know," he said. "But, just trust me on this. Please?" She then noted that he pulled a face at her. It was a ridiculous combination of widening of the eyes and a slight protrusion of a trembling lower lip, yet for some reason, she felt something in her heart ache at the sight of it. Her face softened and she sighed. "Alright, fine. But you'd better not keep me waiting for long, little man."

He smiled broadly at her. "Great! I mean, uh... fine. I'll be out in about fifteen minutes."

18 gently floated down to the ground and sat by the edge of the building, waiting for her little man to come for her. 'Wait a second,' she thought. 'Since when is he MINE?' She smiled slightly to herself. 'Since now.'

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Krillin and Chi-Chi stood in the room in a bit of an awkward silence. Bulma had since left to find Krillin one of the spare shirts he kept at the CC for emergencies, leaving the two alone together for the first time since that rather odd moment not too long before.

Chi-Chi was the first to break the silence with a rather embarrassing question. "Do you think I'm pretty?"

Krillin's eyes opened wider than they had a few minutes ago. What the heck kind of question was that?! After everything that had just happened, she just out of the blue asks something like that?

"Chi-Chi, why would you ask me that?"

"Well, I... it's just that, when you kissed me earlier, you seemed... disgusted. I mean, I know I'm not as young as that other girl, and I certainly don't have my figure anymore..."

Well, at least this was a no brainer. "Chi-Chi, you're beautiful." He then registered how that must have sounded to the woman whose eyes were now wide with surprise and struggled to correct himself. "I mean... uh, well, I think all pregnant women are beautiful. Uh, not to say that you don't particularly stand out or anything. I mean, if anything you're figure looks better. N-not that it wasn't good before, it was great! But, I wasn't looking or anything..." He placed his head in his hands and sighed. 'Yep. No brains at all.' "It's just... I can't see you like that, Chi. Goku and I, we were blood brothers. I guess it's like-" He was cut off by a large blue object being tossed in his face.

Bulma's voice rang out from the hall. "You might wanna put that on. It's pretty cold outside." She then tossed him a pair of shoes. "I'dve given you socks, but you'll be flying, so..."

Krillin pulled the shirt over his head to find it was a light blue sweatshirt, the very same one he'd worn the day Trunks left for his own time. When he'd left it here, he wasn't sure. Bulma's words then seemed to register in his mind. "Whoa, what do you mean it's cold outside?" He looked out the window and noticed for the first time that there was actually snow on the ground. "Wow, I really lost track of time back on the island. What date is it?"

"December 1st." Chi-Chi answered. "You missed Thanksgiving, by the way."

"Aw, man! Well, I guess I'd better get going. Don't wanna keep 18 waiting any longer."

Bulma laughed. "Yeah. Otherwise someone'll be sleeping on the couch for a while."

Krillin couldn't help blushing at that statement. "Bulma! It's not like that!" 'Not yet, anyway,' he added silently. "Besides, I don't really know her all that well yet."

Bulma smirked at him. "Well, based on what I saw earlier, I'd say you know her in almost EVERY sense of the word." She began to laugh again as Krillin mumbled something before exiting through the window himself. Bulma left the room and started down the stairs, followed by Chi-Chi, who still seemed stunned by Krillin's earlier words. No one had called her beautiful since...

The girls then heard a loud clattering noise and some rather agonizing shouts coming from the kitchen. They rushed in to see what was quite possibly the most hilarious sight they'd ever seen. Vegeta had dropped a tray of Bulma's mother's cookies on the floor and was now shaking his leg furiously, trying to dislodge the teeth of a certain lavender haired blur.

Bulma rushed over and pulled her son away from Vegeta. "No, Trunks! You know better than to bite Daddy's leg." She set him down as she tended to Vegeta's latest wound, which was now bleeding pretty badly. "Wow. My baby's got jaws of steel!"

"Your son's an animal, Woman."

Bulma looked up at Vegeta. "I'm not surprised. Look who his father is."

Little Trunks, meanwhile, had slipped over to the fallen cookie tray to claim his prize. He grabbed a particularly large cookie of the tray and bit into it, only to spit it out a moment later and make a face. "Ew! 'azin 'ookies! Yucky!"

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Krillin landed softly on the ground next to 18, who'd wisely sought out a clear spot to sit on the snow covered ground. He was feeling a bit depressed at the moment. That kiss, or rather, that intense make-out session, had meant something to him. It had finally allowed him to show her how he felt. But to her it had been... well, a game, just a means of satisfying her curiosity, and the knowledge of that was nearly breaking his heart. 'Well, guess it's time to put the mask on.' His face once again covered by that same smile he'd used to fool so many in the past. "Ready to go?" he asked her.

She looked up at him and the smile faded from her face. The clothes he was wearing, the way he'd let his hair grow out, that same warm, caring smile on his face... 18 felt her cheeks grow warm. He looked good! But, there was something in his eyes, something that looked remarkably like fear mixed with sorrow. So much sorrow. She somehow knew why, too. She had told him it was just an experiment, but the way he'd kissed her, held her, had felt so sincere, as if he truly meant it...

When she didn't respond, he waved a hand in front of her face. "Hello, anyone in there?"

"Huh? Yeah, just a sec." She stood up and roughly grabbed him by his collar, bringing his face right up to hers. Krillin was half expecting to be throttled or at least screamed at for how far things had gone in her little experiment and closed his eyes tight in fear. Instead, he once again felt her lips gently pressed against his and he let out the breath he'd been holding. She finally withdrew, giving him one final peck for good measure. Krillin was struggling to find the right words. "Wow, I... I... WOW! What was that for?!"

18 set him down on his feet and smirked at him. "Because I felt like it, that's why." 'And I was marking my territory,' she thought to herself. "What, you didn't like it?" That last question was intended as a joke, but 18 somehow felt like a part of herself was actually worried about his answer.

"Uh, yeah, I did. A lot, actually! I just wondered why-?" He was cut off as her hands cupped his face and her lips covered his once again.

"Just think of it as my way of saying thank you," she said. "And of letting you know... it's not a game. Not anymore."

Krillin's smile was so big she thought his face was about to split open and his cheeks were as red as a stop sign. He took her hand and laced his fingers with hers as the two flew off to Krillin's house.

Her house. Her home. Now that was a thought 18 could get used to.

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After Chi-Chi had left and everyone else had gone to bed for the night, one lone figure walked the hallways of the Briefs' family residential area. It was creeping along quietly, trying to avoid making a single sound that might alert anyone to what he was up to. He finally came to a halt at the door of the room adjacent to his own and pushed the partially opened door all the way in and gazed at the sight of a sleeping toddler in his crib.

That little guy had fought hard to get what he wanted today. He'd tried everything he could, used all the strength he had available to achieve his goal, and when that hadn't worked, he still refused to give up.

Vegeta rubbed the mark on his leg left by his son's last act of defiance earlier that day and allowed a genuine smile to cross his face.

'Now, my son, you're learning what it means to be a Saiyan.'

_Yeah, I figured I'd end it with a rare piece of Vegeta fluff. Enjoy it, as they'll be few and far between. I know things seem to be going fast between Krillin and 18, but don't worry, you'll see where I'm going with this soon enough. And what's happening with Chi-Chi, I wonder? Is she developing feelings for someone? And if Krillin's going to be visiting her home regularly, how will that affect the K/18 relationship? You'll find out soon! Until next time, please review!_


	15. Chapter 15

**One Good Reason**

_Yep, I'm updating again already. I just loved where this story was going, so I decided to add one last short addendum chapter to my last one. So, here goes._

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**Chapter 15**

Chi-Chi drove silently along toward her father's house, lost in a world of thought. How in the world could this happen to her? She was turning into an emotional wreck, seeming to take insult or offense at everything. Why else would what had happened earlier bother her so much?

One very obvious reason for her behavior was her pregnancy. Some of the same symptoms had been evident when she was pregnant with Gohan before. But then, she'd had her Goku. Strange as it had been, he'd simultaneously been the source of much of her stress, but also the comfort she needed when things got to be too much for her to handle. But now, he wasn't here when she needed him the most.

It wasn't as if he hadn't made certain she was provided for, though. Her father was ever able to help out with money, and Bulma usually made sure she stopped out for a visit when she had free time. She'd even volunteered to baby-sit after the baby was born so she'd be able to have a break. But, perhaps most of all, Goku had entrusted his family's safekeeping in Krillin's hands.

Chi-Chi never really could understand the bond between the two at first. She'd always known those two were close; they'd grown up together, for crying out loud! But, it seemed they shared some sort of bond. It was almost as if they were actual family. Well, Krillin HAD said they were 'blood brothers'. She supposed that accounted for something, but male traditions were uncharted territory for her; she'd never really grown up around boys.

What she did know was that her husband had trusted him enough to care for his family in his absence. And he certainly was fond of him. In fact, for the first few months of their marriage, it was all he seemed to talk about, how he and Krillin had done this, how they had planned to do that. He spoke of him so much she felt like she'd already known him for years. In retrospect, he almost reminded her of Goku... when he would act a bit more serious, anyway. He certainly was a sweet guy and anything but self-centered. Not a bad role model at all, really.

But there was still one thing that Chi-Chi couldn't understand. Why, if she saw him as nothing more than a role model for Gohan, was she feeling the way she was?

Why was she almost... jealous?

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18 looked over and noticed that Krillin seemed to quite literally be grinning from ear to ear. That in turn made her smile. She wasn't at all sure why, but something about seeing him happy seemed to make her feel a certain warmth, as if she were sharing in his emotion. Perhaps it was a side effect of what had happened earlier? Maybe, but then again...

The thought drifted away and her smile was soon to follow as she noticed that it was becoming increasingly difficult to maintain a straight flight path. She looked up and noticed that dark clouds were gathering in an already darkening sky as the sea below them began to grow choppy. She felt an increasing desire to land, to go and hide anywhere from the approaching storm, but she fought it off. She wasn't some child; she could handle a little storm.

She felt a slight tug on her shoulder and turned to see Krillin motioning for them to land on a small island below them. 18 was silently grateful; she didn't like storms. Every time she was in one, it seemed some sort of latent memory tried to struggle its way to the surface, giving her a ferocious headache. Couple that with the fear she felt as a result, and she was one miserable girl.

The two landed on the island and Krillin led her along a winding pathway through the trees. They stopped when they reached a small cave rock face, seemingly overgrown with moss. Krillin reached up and pulled the mossy rock aside, showing a small, dry cave hidden within. He gave her a sly smile as he wiggled his eyebrows at her and she walked inside, chuckling slightly as she rolled her eyes. "You are such a doof, you know that?"

"Yeah, that's what I hear." He looked around for his hidden stash, hoping he had remembered to re-stock it after the last time he'd been here. Sure enough, there was a modest pile of wood in a corner near the cave entrance, and he brought some of it to the middle of the cave, lighting it with a small blast from his finger. "Ah, that's better. Now we can actually see."

18 looked around the cave, or perhaps more appropriately, room and saw that the place was actually stocked with all the essentials: food, water, pillows and a blanket, a radio... She began to surmise the purpose of it. "So, this is some kind of emergency shelter, huh?"

"Yeah. Roshi and I decided that we should build one in case we ever wound up stranded in a storm somewhere. Since this island is about halfway between Kame house and the mainland, we figured this was the perfect spot." He peered out the open entrance once more before pulling it closed. "As you can see, traveling in a tropical storm isn't exactly fun. I remember one time..." He looked over at her noticed something for the first time.

18's eyes seemed to be darting about nervously, her face seemingly troubled as she rocked back and forth in front of the fire, trying to warm herself. It seemed to him that she was nervous about something. Was it actually possible she was afraid of storms? "Um, 18? Are you O.K.?"

She wrapped her arms a little more tightly around herself. "I'm fine. Just leave me alone for a little bit, alright?"

"Yeah, sure. I'll just..." he looked around the room for something to do. He decided to fiddle with the radio for a bit. "I'll be over there if you want anything."

She glared at him slightly. "I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself, thank you! I don't need any help."

"I'm not saying you need anything. I'm just saying that if you want anything, just let me know, okay?" He smiled at her, and she found it difficult to remain angry with him. After all, he was just trying to help. It was sweet really.

As she sat there, trying to warm herself, 18 began to think back to what had happened in the past week. She had been kicked out of her brother's house, tracked down the little man she now shared a cave with, nearly been killed by a psychopathic Saiyan, watched as some woman had tended to her little man, and now, she found herself in a... 18 wasn't really sure what to call what she had with Krillin. Sure, it was some sort of relationship, but what? What exactly was she supposed to call him? Her... what?!

Then there was the matter of her brother. She wondered if 17 still thought about her. She wondered if he was worried about what was happening to her now. Somehow she doubted that. If he really cared, he wouldn't have shoved her out his door in the first place!

Krillin, on the other hand, had done the opposite. He'd actually looked for her for a while, actually made an effort to see what had become of her. When he'd found out what had happened with her and her brother, he'd immediately offered her his home. When she'd been in danger, he'd rescued her again. It was as if there wasn't anything he wouldn't do for her.

She then thought about what had happened earlier that same day, or rather evening, and blushed slightly. Sure, it had been enjoyable, but it was also embarrassing. Not just being caught in the act, either, but the way they had been teased about what they were doing. Was this to be a constant factor in their relationship? She certainly didn't want to be the butt of everyone's jokes or the subject of their gossip; on the other hand, she didn't want to give Krillin up either. Though she'd tried to deny it time and time again, she cared about him quite a bit, and she didn't want to let him go. She finally came to a decision: they were going to have to set some ground rules. "Krillin?"

She was startled to find that he was standing right next to her almost instantly. "Yeah?"

'I think we need to have a talk about our... um, relationship." He sat down next to her and she continued. "Look, I really do like being with you, but-" She noted the look on his face. He looked hurt. Sad. Almost as if he thought...

"I understand. We'll just be friends if that's how you want it."

"NO! I mean, I... look, I want to be with you, but I just don't want a repeat of what happened today. With your friends, I mean. If that's how people are going to react to us, maybe it's better if we don't do anything in front of them. Understand?"

Krillin smiled at the news. She still wanted to be with him! That was amazing in and of itself. Still, she had a point. "I actually felt the same way. A healthy relationship has to have boundaries, after all." He sat back, shifting his weight onto his hands. "So... lay 'em on me."

"Well, it's simple. No public displays of affection outside your home. At least until I get to know your friends. Is that clear?"

Normally, Krillin would've been very upset to learn that he couldn't show off his new girlfriend to everyone, if for no other reason than to prove he could indeed get one. That had certainly been the case with Maron. Yet, for some reason he didn't feel the same with 18; just knowing she cared was more than enough for him. Besides, who said she had to be hanging all over him for him to 'show her off'? Still, there was one accommodation he wanted. "What about hugging?"

"Like I said, not outside your home."

"Please?"

"No!"

"But-"

"NO!"

Krillin sighed. "Fine. But what about holding hands? If nothing else, it'll keep other guys off you. Assuming that's what you want, that is..."

18 had to concede that one point to him. She certainly didn't want a gaggle of dumb, hormone-crazed teenagers and muscle heads ogling her non-stop. And it wasn't as if she had to worry about Krillin's ego getting over-inflated. "Fine. But only when I offer it, you understand?"

Krillin smiled and mock saluted. "Yes, ma'am!" He then found himself pulled forward as 18's lips met his own once again. "Wow! What ever happened to no PDAs?"

18 smiled as she moved in for another kiss. "Well, we're not exactly in public, are we?"

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The next morning found Master Roshi sitting on his couch, watching, of all things, a weather report rather than his usual exercise program. He really wanted to see what had happened with the storm last night. Apparently, it had been bad enough that Krillin hadn't come home last night after Bulma had called to let him know he'd be there.

It wasn't long after that thought before the phone began to ring. Roshi begrudgingly pulled himself up off the couch and walked over to answer it. "Hello?"

He'd expected it to be Krillin, but instead was shocked to hear Chi-Chi on the other end. "Roshi? Can I talk to Krillin please? I have something important to ask him."

"Sorry to say it, but the boy never made it home last night. Apparently there was a pretty big storm last night."

There was silence on the other line for a few moments, then "Do you think he's okay?"

"Huh, I'm sure he's fine. We built a storm shelter on an island about halfway out. He probably holed up there."

"Um, okay... Well, let him know I called, alright?"

"Will do. Bye."

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Chi-Chi hung up the phone, a slightly dejected look on her face. Krillin had spent the night on an isolated island. With... with HER! What was it about that girl that made him rather spend time with her? What did that girl have that she didn't? There was no denying it now.

Chi-Chi had a crush.

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_Yes, I know what you're thinking. Just trust me that this is all going to work out in the end. Chi-Chi is in no way forgetting about Goku. In fact... well, you'll see! I've dropped some hints as to why! And like I said, the rules have been laid for Krillin and 18; the same rules they abide by later in the show. Now, things are gonna get interesting. And how's Gohan gonna take this? You'll just have to keep reading to find out! Until then, review._


	16. Chapter 16

**One Good Reason**

_Yep, I'm updating again. I'm sorta on a roll right now and I don't really wanna stop, so I decided to do it again. No real issues with Chi-Chi in this chapter, for those of you who're waiting. Mostly 18 and Krillin's 'morning after' and the lady meets the other residents of Kame house. You can guess what's gonna happen there. Plus, a dream form a latent memory makes itself known..._

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**Chapter 16**

_He was running again, the boy in her dreams. He always ran. She always seemed to get this same dream when it stormed, and she hated it. But she was still forced to watch it play out just the same._

_The faceless boy ran, heart pounding in his ears, feet thudding against the muddy dirt road. He was trying to get away again, trying to run from the place that held him. It wasn't the first time she'd seen him attempt it. Her heart went out to the boy as he looked back and his eyes opened wide in fear. That same man was after him again, chasing him, screaming his name in a cry she was forced to describe as fuzzy and indecipherable, as well as a few more noticeable obscenities, raising up a staff with which he would threaten to beat him with, or use to 'really punish him'. She wasn't quite sure what that meant, but she did know that it couldn't be pleasant._

_She watched in terror as the bigger man began to close the gap between the two, finally over taking the boy and forcing him to lay face down on he ground. With a powerful jerk, he tore the clothes off of the boy's back and brought the staff up, positioning it to where he wanted it as he prepared to drive it downward..._

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18 was awoken from her dream by someone gently shaking her. She felt a slight urge to kill whoever had woken her up, but then she heard a particular, gentle voice that soothed her. "18, wake up. It's time to head home."

She opened her eyes and saw Krillin kneeling above her. She smiled and shook her head slightly; what was it about this little man that she found so soothing? "Well, good morning," she said, sitting up and giving him a light peck on the cheek.

"Uh, yeah. Good morning," he replied, blushing as he debated whether or not to do the same. 18 smiled at his apprehension. "You may reciprocate, if you like." Krillin smiled and returned the kiss.

"So how'd you sleep?" he asked, a smirk settling on his face.

"Fine, but I'm still a little sore from last night."

Krillin stood up, that same smirk on his face. "Well, I DID tell you your first time would be painful. But you insisted. Heck, you practically begged me! Not my fault you didn't believe me."

She stood up and rubbed at the muscles in her back and abdominal area. "Well, how was I supposed to know? My pain threshold is much higher than average, remember?"

"Pain threshold or no, it always hurts after your first game of 'Twister'." (A/N: Oh, I SOOO had you guys going, didn't I?!)

18 winced as she rubbed her back again. "Well, I was absolutely bored out of my skull and the radio wasn't playing anything decent, so I figured... I still don't see the point of that game. All you do is contort your body to touch colored circles." She decided to get back at him for his smarmy attitude. Pulling him close, she whispered, "Although, some of that contact was quite stimulating. I can think of a few other ways you could use those positions, you know." She finished by blowing gently in his ear. When she pulled away, she looked at his face and bit her lip to stifle her laughter. He was the brightest shade of red she'd ever seen and his eyes were so wide she thought they'd pop. Unable to hold back any longer, she burst forth in a fit of laughter.

"Oh jeez," she gasped. "You should see the look on your face! Ha-HA! It's priceless! Oh, I wish I had a camera!" she was laughing so hard she was rolling on the floor of the cave, clutching at her sides which were now cramping.

Krillin tried to be angry. He wanted to be angry. Instead, he found himself smiling, lost in the music of her laughter. To him, it was without a doubt the most beautiful sound in the world. Even her laughter was perfect.

Krillin looked at his watch and was pulled out of his trance. "Uh, 18? I think we'd better take off now. Roshi's gonna wonder why I didn't come back and if I show up with a girl, it's gonna be bad enough. Showing up LATE with a girl is gonna mean no end of ribbing for us."

18 pulled herself off the floor, smile still on her face as she walked up to him. He swallowed hard; for all the 'tomboyish' qualities she possessed, there were other traits that were undeniably feminine. That walk was certainly one of them. The look in her eyes, the way those perfect hips swayed, the way her perfectly shaped legs moved... he suddenly felt a ticklish and found that 18 was attacking his neck somewhat ferociously. She stayed that way for a few moments before she pulled back and smirked at her handiwork. There in plain sight was what was undeniably a very large hickey.

Krillin rubbed the spot somewhat uncomfortably. "Um, not that I'm complaining, but why on earth did you do that?"

"We're gonna be late enough as it is. If they're gonna taunt you, then I figured I'd give 'em something to talk about." Her smirk widened. "And don't even TRY to tell me you didn't enjoy that, little man."

Krillin smiled and chuckled. "As I said, I'm not complaining. It's just... after I told you about Roshi and Oolong, I was shocked to hear that you still wanted to stay with me, much less keep the same rules. And now, with this," he gestured at the mark on his neck, "things are... well, lets just say they'll think we did more than we actually did, and no amount of evidence is gonna change their mind."

18 stood her ground, same smirk on her face. "And I'd care why? I already told you, I want you; I want to be with you. If that means putting up with a minor inconvenience, so be it. Just tell them to stay out of my way, and I'll be fine. But if they don't," she cracked her knuckles, "I won't be held responsible for what I do."

He smiled and took her hand. "I wouldn't dream of it. Much as I respect Master Roshi, there've been times even I've been tempted to give him a healthy smack to get his head on straight. And you wont have to worry about peeping, either." He smiled proudly. "I changed the locks on the spare room and bathroom months ago. No way he can sneak in there now." He floated up until he was at her eye level and gave her a quick peck on the nose, blushing slightly as she did, her smirk changing into that same, shy smile she had before. "Now what say we go see your new home?"

----------

Roshi was reclined on his lounge chair on the beach, his favorite magazine draped over his face as he snored lightly. The particular topic of this dream was not what one would expect, however. It was actually about a single moment from his past; the day a certain pair of boys had come to his island, asking him to teach them. The two young men he'd had the privilege of calling his sons.

Strange the way his life had changed that day. He'd wound up encountering old enemies he never thought he'd see again, running into estranged family and facing mythological monsters that weren't supposed to exist. Those boys had changed him, whether he'd ever admit it or not. But now, one of them was gone and Roshi was beginning to worry about the other. Krillin didn't usually stay out all night; he wasn't the party type. In fact in all the years Roshi had known him, he'd never seen Krillin drink so much as a drop of alcohol. That ruled out the bar scene. Maybe he really had gotten hurt. Even if he'd taken shelter on their island, he'dve been back by now...

A strong breeze blew the magazine off Roshi's face, the sunlight causing him to awaken as it shone into his eyes. He reached around on the sand, feeling for his sunglasses. He was surprised to find them tossed on his stomach, as that familiar grating voice called out. "You really need to keep better track of your stuff, old man. I saw a crab headed up the beach with those."

Roshi placed his glasses back upon his face and sighed with relief as the blinding light's effect on his ancient eyes was dimmed. It was then he noticed something unusual about Oolong. He was standing on the beach, suitcase in hand. "You going somewhere, Oolong?"

The pig rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, I meant to tell you a couple days ago." He sighed slightly before continuing. "I... I'm moving out."

"Huh? Why are you gonna do that? I, mean, if you go, who am I gonna talk to about... stuff?!"

"Jeez, old man, it's not like you're gonna be alone. Krillin's still here."

The old man stood up from his chair. "Well, Krillin's different. He's not into the same things we are."

"Calm down, I'll still visit every one in a while." Oolong puffed out his chest slightly. "I just need to hit the road. The ladies of the world have been deprived of Oolong for too long." He grinned, obviously quite proud of his annoying little rhyme. "'Bout time I try and score again." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a capsule, pressing a button on it and tossing it onto the sand. After the large poof of smoke cleared, a small, single occupant car was revealed. Oolong tossed his suitcase into the trunk and hopped into the seat. "I'm headed out now. You be sure to tell Krillin I said bye. Not that I'll miss the little killjoy."

"I'll be sure to tell him." He waved at the car as it rose into the sky. "Goodbye, Oolong. Just don't get yourself into too much trouble!"

Oolong waved one final time as his car blasted off toward the eastern horizon.

-----------

Krillin began rubbing tenderly at the bruise on his neck as he and 18 flew closer to Kame Island. "I still say you don't know what you're letting us in for. Those guys can be pretty crude and straightforward when it comes to this sorta thing."

18 kept her eyes forward. "All part of the plan, little man. I hang back until the old man and the pig start heckling you, slip into the house unnoticed, shower and it's all good. No worries about peeping." She smiled over at him. "And if you play your part right, there's a reward in it for you."

Krillin felt his cheeks grow red. "Uh, a reward, huh? What k-kind of reward?" He was stunned to see 18 stop in mid flight and had to slam on the brakes and backpedal a bit to be back at her position. "Why'd you stop?" he asked.

'She reached over and pulled him close. "You wanted to know what your reward is?" she whispered into his ear, her breath on his neck giving him goose bumps. She took a single finger and began to toy with the mark on his neck. "Are you sure you want to know?"

He stared at her, eyes open wide and nodded. She leaned in and kissed him softly before she whispered. "If you do it right, you just might get to give me one of those. Would you like that, Krillin?" She pulled away and once again had to stifle her laughter at the look on his face. "I'll take that as a yes, then." She turned to leave, but found herself being pulled back to Krillin, as his lips once again covered hers.

18 was stunned as he broke away. He hadn't seemed the type to instigate any sort of physical affection, to say nothing of being so forceful. She felt a need to slap him at first, but the feeling was fleeting as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer. She felt... safe. From what she didn't know, but she felt it and that was enough. She wrapped her arms around him as well, silently wishing he would never let go.

----------

Roshi looked up in shock and awe at the sight above him. Krillin floated in the sky, swaying slightly as he kissed... a girl! A hot girl, no less! Upon further examination, Roshi was shocked to find that this girl was none other than Android 18 herself! That was enough to nearly give the old man a heart attack.

Still, in spite of himself, Roshi couldn't help but feel a great deal of happiness and pride for his student, his son. He seemed happier than Roshi could remember, even before Goku died. This was... this was... Roshi's joy died down as his gaze shifted from his student to his companion's rather attractive posterior and a trickle of blood ran down his nose. Unable to keep his composure, he lat out a lecherous laugh and fell to the sand, out cold.

----------

Krillin and 18 heard an odd noise and looked down to see Master Roshi passed out in the sand below. Krillin let out an embarrassed laugh. "I guess were a little closer to home than I thought. Well, guess this means that I don't get that reward, huh?"

18 smirked and shook her head. "Sorry, little man, but a deal's a deal. I'm headed for the shower. Shouldn't be too hard to find, should it?" She peered over her shoulder at him and smirked as she walked into the house. "Don't feel too bad, though. There's always later."

----------

It wasn't until nearly thirty minutes later that Roshi finally began to stir. He sat up on the couch with a groan and placed a wrinkled hand on his forehead. What had happened? The last thing he remembered was... He leapt to his feet and began to scurry about the room, a lecherous grin once again on his face. "He-he, where is she? Where's the hottie?!"

"If you're looking for 18, she's in the shower." Roshi was surprised to see Krillin sitting in the chair next to the couch. "And I don't think she'd appreciate you referring to her as 'the hottie'. If you value your manhood, I suggest you not do that in front of her."

Roshi felt inclined to ignore the boy and take a peek, but something he saw on his neck stopped him. Leaning in for a closer look, he found his suspicions to be correct. "Heh, I guess I know why you didn't come home last night, now don't I?"

Krillin's face grew bright red. "MASTER! It's not like that! For crying out loud, we slept on opposite ends of the cave!" He hung his head slightly. "Besides, I'm still not entirely sure how she feels about me."

"Well, I'd say she must feel something if she was willing to do that."

His hand balled up into a fist and he slammed his fist onto the coffee table a growled. "That's just it. The only reason she did it was to divert attention away from her when she got here! I don't know what to expect from her; one second we're at the stage where we just talk, kiss hold hands, but then we're practically necking and I..." Krillin struggled with his desire to cry. "I don't know what to do. She says it's not a game, but- but I can't help feeling that she doesn't feel the same way about me that I do about her."

Roshi sat back on the couch, appearing deep in thought. "I see. And just how DO you feel about her, son?

"I... I love her. With all my heart. I don't know why. To be honest, there are times I almost wish I didn't; maybe then this wouldn't be so painful for me." Krillin managed one last smile. "Then again, maybe I'm just being paranoid. You know, reading into things, as usual." He stood up. "Besides, if she didn't care, she wouldn't still be here, right?"

"Perhaps. By the way, I'm supposed to say goodbye to you from Oolong. He moved out today. Said something about wanting to experience the world."

Krillin smirked. "Yeah, and all the diseases that come with it," he muttered. "I already knew he was going to. Caught him making plans over the past few weeks. Just wondered when is all."

"Oh, and Chi-Chi called while you were gone. She wants you to call her back. I can't really say if it was important or not, but I'd call back soon, were I you. She sounded a little upset about something."

"Yeah, I'll do that now." Krillin walked toward the kitchen to use the phone. "Thanks for the talk, old timer. I feel better, now."

Roshi sat in silence, his dark glasses hiding the fact that he had been aware of the fact that their conversation had been overheard by a certain girl with blue eyes. He walked over and began to climb the stairs, stopping next to 18, who was trying her best to act inconspicuous. "Well, young lady," he said to her, "now you know how he really feels. The only question left is, what are you going to do about it?"

18's eyes went wide in shock. Was it possible that the old man had known she was there the whole time? She'd been so careful, so quiet. There was no way...

But then, a new question began to arise in her mind as she descended the stairway. Now that she DID know how Krillin felt, what was she supposed to do about it? He'd said he loved her! She didn't understand how that could be, especially since they'd only been together for the entirety of about 19 hours. Love was still an elusive subject for her, but even SHE knew that they couldn't actually be in love with each other this soon. Could they? Of course there were those romantics that believed in love at first sight, but that was all sentimental nonsense, wasn't it?

She had to admit, shed felt a special connection to the man the very first time she'd seen him. It had been a mystery to her then, just some phantom of an emotion toying at the back of her mind. It had become even more intense, though, after she kissed him. He seemed to be on her mind nonstop while she, 17 and 16 had been hunting for Goku, which was the main reason 18 had been in such a hurry to find their target. So long as she could focus on business, she didn't have to think about him. Especially helpful, as her brother would keep teasing her about her 'little crush'.

She supposed the concept of love was indeed possible from his direction. The way he kept protecting her, the way he looked out for her, the way he put her wishes ahead of his... that didn't seem to be something anyone would do just for a crush. The man had almost died for her, for crying out loud! She ran a hand across her forehead and groaned. Why were things not so black and white when it came to this little man?

18 sat down on the couch and crossed her legs, watching Krillin as he chatted away in the next room. She saw him smile and managed to hear him say, "Yeah, sure. I'll be there in a bit, alright? Great! Oh, and..." He shot a glance in 18's direction. "Is it okay if I bring a friend? Yes, it's the girl. No, I promise, we won't do that. Jeez, it's not like we're rabbits or something! Alright, see you then. Bye." He walked into the living room and smiled at her. That same warm, loving smile he always gave her and now she knew; he really did love her. The very thought made her feel warm inside. She found herself wondering: could she love him back? Well, she wasn't sure, but she was willing to find out.

"Feel better after the shower?" he asked her.

"Hmm? Oh, yeah. Much better."

He sat down next to her. "Well, that's good. Tonight, I'll set you up in your room. Which reminds me..." he seemed to give her a once over. "Do you have anything else to wear? Not that I'm complaining, or anything. It's just that, you can't go around wearing the same thing all the time. It doesn't look good, you know. Then again, you'd look good in anything. Not that you dress to please me or anything, but-" his ramblings were once again cut off by the pressing of a pair of soft lips against his.

"My stuff's at my brother's house. I'll head over there to pick it up later today." She smiled sweetly at him. "I think you'll find my wardrobe more than adequate."

Krillin felt like melting into a little puddle under that smile. "Heh, that's great. But, are you up to going somewhere first? Chi-Chi wants me to come visit Gohan. I guess he's been wanting to see me since he heard I was awake and all, and since Chi-Chi wants him to stay at home for a while to catch up on his schoolwork, I figured I'd drop by."

18 bristled at the thought of going to that woman's house. She had no idea why, but she kept seeing that woman as competition. 'Well, let her see him, then. Let her see how I've marked him; let her see he's mine. That should drive the point home well enough!'

"Alright, let's get going."

_Well, I'll stop it here. Hope you've enjoyed this chapter. Until next time, read on! Oh, and if you like this, check out 'Fulfillment' by me and 'Blood's Song' by Diinya-chan!_


	17. Chapter 17

**One Good Reason**

_Hey, everyone! It seems I left some people on the verge of a cliffie there. Well, suffice it to say that things are certainly going to be interesting this time around. I hope everyone reading this is enjoying it. And I'd like to dedicate this to someone VERY special to me: this one's for you, Nanc! You have no idea how much you mean to me._

**Chapter 17 (how appropriate)**

"Yeah, we'll take off in a sec. First I wanna put a different shirt on."

18 sighed as she watched Krillin dart back up the stairs. She just wanted to get this over with; get to that house, stay for a while, get her stuff from her brother, get back home, maybe squeeze in some alone time before bed. Instead, she was being made to wait! 'C'mon,' she told herself, 'it's only a couple minutes more, if even. No need to get bent over something so small.' Try as she might, though, she couldn't help being irritable. The prospect of being around that woman wasn't all that pleasant to her.

Not more than a minute later, Krillin came bounding down the stairs, having abandoned his shirt for a sweater. He noticed the confused look 18 was giving him and chuckled. "It might be warm here, but it's winter out there, remember? Buying clothes for weather in other parts of the world was a lesson hard learned." He shuddered. "I can't tell you how many times I nearly frosted my rear off."

18 chuckled at the prospect, but she then realized that she had a bit of a problem of her own. While she certainly had weather appropriate clothes at her brother's house, she was currently dressed for some warmer weather, as winter had been late in coming this year. Still, it was no big deal; she'd endured physical pain beyond measure. A little cold air wasn't going to kill her

The two were soon on their way to the Son household, yet for some reason, neither one seemed capable of speaking to the other. 18 had her reasons; she hadn't really wanted to go on this trip anyways due to a certain woman waiting at their destination. Krillin, on the other hand, was just a tad nervous. He had sensed that 18 was in somewhat of a mood at the moment and decided it was best for his health if he not push her into a conversation.

The two were now approaching the mainland, and 18 began to shiver lightly. The air up here was colder than she thought! Time began to wear on and she began to shake even more from the cold. She probably should've asked about a jacket or something at the very least.

She suddenly felt the cold air around her dissipate, and a hand slipped into hers. She looked over at Krillin, who was giving that embarrassed smile of his. "I- uh, I noticed you were cold, so I figured… well, since my ki can keep me warm, I thought maybe… if you were close enough, i-it might keep you warm, too."

18 couldn't help but smile at his gesture of kindness. He always seemed to be thinking of her. It was a refreshing change of pace from what she'd gotten used to. 17's philosophy had always been 'look out for number one and screw everyone else', but Krillin had to be, without a doubt the least self-centered man she'd ever seen. Maybe even the ONLY man that wasn't self-centered; practically every guy she'd ever met was self-absorbed and only interested in one thing from her. Krillin was… well, Krillin was different.

She smiled at him and gently squeezed his hand. "Thanks," she said. Krillin began to blush again and let out that nervous little laugh, which amused 18. For some reason, he would still respond that way from the tiniest sign of affection she gave him. Then again, they'd been together all of twenty-four hours.

Twenty-four amazing, wonderful, incredible hours.

As they continued, hand in hand, 18 couldn't wipe the small smile from her face.

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"Gohan, would you be a dear and set the table?"

Gohan sighed wearily. "Yeah, sure, Mom." He got up from his seat on an oh-so-comfy sofa he had been about to fall back asleep on and went to the cupboard, pulling out the various dishes they would need.

His mother had gotten him up at the crack of dawn to get ready for the arrival of a pair of guests, but she refused to say who. Apparently she had arranged this as some sort of surprise for him. He wasn't sure who could possibly be coming over to visit and frankly, he didn't care. He'd much rather head over to Bulma's to see how Krillin was doing.

Besides, his mother hadn't seemed too happy about their visitors either. Or rather, one of them. It was an odd thing to see, her fluctuating between being uncharacteristically happy and nervous to appearing as if she was ready to claw someone's eyes out. The only scenario he could think of would be Vegeta and Bulma coming over, but that wouldn't explain why she seemed to have those butterflies of hers and the amount of food she was cooking suggested to him that their visitor was someone with a somewhat less than Saiyan appetite. It was still quite a bit, though; obviously someone with a high metabolic structure… Gohan cringed at himself; he was getting stuck in school mode again! Deciding to leave that train of thought before he fried his brain on one of his few days off, he just chalked his mother's behavior up to pregnancy and finished setting the table.

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A few minutes later, 18 and Krillin touched down in front of their destination, and Krillin removed his hand from hers as he walked over to the door. 18 didn't really want to admit it, but she felt a twinge of sadness at that. 'Oh, get over it,' she told herself. 'Jeez, he's only five feet away. Don't go getting yourself dependent on a man, girl. They'll only take advantage of it.' But another voice in her mind argued that point. _'No. Krillin's special, remember? You said so yourself. He wouldn't do a single thing you didn't want him to.' _

Oy, this was annoying! Every single time she tried to raise her old defenses up, that little voice popped up and broke them back down. She looked over at Krillin, who had stopped just short of the door. He was watching her, waiting to see if she was coming or not, she figured.

"Hey," he finally said, nervously kicking at the snow-covered ground with his foot, "are… are you coming? I mean, you don't have to. You could always head back home, or maybe start on moving your stuff if you want to. I won't be here for too long, so I'd be able to help soon."

18 couldn't help but smile. Above everything else, he was showing concern for her and what she wanted. The previous doubts had finally given way, and she knew without a doubt that he would never take advantage of her, wouldn't force her to become dependent on him. Heck, he wouldn't even ask her to look his way if she didn't want to, and although it was an endearing trait, it was also slightly disturbing. Why didn't the little guy seem to have an assertive bone in his body; why did he just accept whatever anyone threw at him?

She cleared her head and joined him at the door. "Nah, I'll stay." She slipped her hand into his again. "I've got good reason to," she added with a smirk, trying not to laugh at his reaction. He normally blushed a bright shade of red, but contrasted with the snow it appeared even redder than usual. Deciding to push it even more, she leaned in to kiss his cheek. Instead she caught him right as he turned his head and once again found her lips pressed against his.

She was content to linger there for a moment as she closed her eyes, enjoying the sensation. For some reason, she liked it best when he kissed her like this. There was no ulterior motive; no hormones coming into play, no lust-filled eyes, just a kiss straight from the heart. And, in all honesty, she loved it.

The kiss broke and she opened her eyes to see Krillin once again blushing like mad with a dazed smile on his face. "Wow," he finally said. "And again I say wow!" His face grew a bit more composed once again as he turned his attention to the door. "Well, I guess we better knock. No real sense in standing outside all day, is there?"

Chi-Chi halted her duties when a knock was heard at the front door. She nervously began to wipe at her hands on the towel she kept nearby, trying desperately to remove the batter that was clinging to her fingers. She had little luck and was once again forced to call out to her son. "Gohan, can you get the door please?" He was possibly going to be more interested in what was on the other side anyway.

Gohan once again lugged himself up off the couch and walked over to the door. 'Well,' he thought, 'time to see who all the fuss is about.' He opened the door and received what was possibly the best surprise he'd gotten in a long time. He was so enthralled, in fact, that he rushed out the door and caught the one on the other side in what would be considered a cross between a hug and a tackle. "Krillin!"

Krillin had to take a moment to catch his breath before he could speak. "G-great to see you, too, kiddo," he said while patting Gohan's back. "Now would you please get off me so I can breathe?"

The boy let out an embarrassed laugh and pushed himself off of the ground and the little man pinned below. "Uh, sorry! I'm just really glad to see you. Mom said you were awake, but she didn't tell me you were… up." His gaze slowly shifted to Krillin's companion, who he had finally noticed was watching the scene with a bemused look on her face. His brain kicked in with a sudden realization. "Hey," he said, pointing at her.

18 felt herself tense. Every fiber of her being was tensed and ready to defend herself. She was sure that the kid was going to try to kill her for what happened. Instead, she was shocked to see him smile at her. "See, I knew he wasn't gonna die!" He then proceeded to stick his tongue out at her and laugh. "Ha-ha, told you so!"

She was shocked, to say the least. She had expected him to attack her, to blame her for what had happened. Instead, he was… he was joking with her, as if he'd known her for years! How could he be so jovial about the whole thing?!

Her gaze shifted to Krillin, who she noted was laughing right along with Gohan. A smile flitted across her face at the sight; seeing him happy always seemed to have that effect on her. Like some contagion of sorts, albeit a pleasant one.

Krillin hauled himself off the ground and brushed the snow from his back. "So, how ya been, bro? You being good for your mom?"

Gohan groaned slightly. "Yeah, but it's been pretty tough lately. She always wants me to do my schoolwork, I just wanna go outside sometimes, and then there was what happened to you… Things've been kinda weird around here lately."

"Huh. Seems to me things are rarely 'normal' around here," 18 chimed in, much to Krillin's shock. She noticed this and smirked. "What? I'm not a mute, you know."

"Well, yeah, b-but," Krillin found himself struggling to find the right words. "I just didn't think… I mean, you're not usually the type to… you know, make conversation."

"I'll wager there's still a bit you don't know about me."

Krillin smiled. "Maybe… but I'd love to find out."

Gohan watched with amazement as 18 started blushing. 'This is weird,' he thought. 'I mean, this is Android 18 here, and she's actin' all shy around him? Wow… HEY! Maybe she likes him!' "So, are you two gonna get married?"

The two of them both felt their eyes go wide with shock, and Krillin's entire head turned bright red. "G-GOHAN! We've only been together for one day! I think that's a little early to be thinking about that." Krillin looked over at 18, who seemed frozen in a state of shock. "Um, 18? I think we'd better go inside now."

18 blinked rapidly a few times and nodded as the three of them made their way into the house.

Upon their entry, however, 18's blank expression changed into that of a scowl at the sight she beheld. There was that woman with the horrible wardrobe, standing in her kitchen, smiling at Krillin. HER Krillin, and in a much warmer way than she should have! The scowl soon became mutual as Chi-Chi shifted her gaze onto 18, and the two engaged in a furious staring match that had the other two occupants of the room visibly sweating.

Krillin leaned over and whispered to Gohan. "Um… I think you better say something to break this up, or things might get ugly…

"ME?!" Gohan's whisper came out as a squeak. "Why does it have to be me?"

"Because Chi-Chi's YOUR mom!"

"Yeah, well 18's YOUR girlfriend!"

"So? Your mom can't kill you!"

"She can ground me!"

"Well 18 can plant me IN the ground!"

Gohan had to concede that round to Krillin. He let out a nervous laugh and said, "H-hey, mom, Krillin says he can't wait to taste your cooking again!"

Krillin cringed as Chi-Chi's scowl turned into a smile as her gaze shifted to him. He had a feeling he knew what was coming next and sure enough, he almost felt 18's glare shift to him as well. 'Thanks a lot, kid.'

Chi-chi made her way over to the table and sat down. "Well, then by all means, let's eat."

-----

Much of the dinner passed in an awkward silence. The boys were too scared to say much and the girls seemed to be locked in their own little war to see who could give the most frightening glare. Gohan was sinking lower and lower in his chair and Krillin was nervously picking at his food. Somehow his appetite had left, which was no small task.

Unable to take the silence any longer Krillin finally spoke up. "So… Chi-Chi… how far along are you?"

Chi-Chi smiled and rested a hand on her stomach. "Well, about seven months now. The doctor says that this little fella's growing pretty fast."

18 snorted. "Seven months? I'd say you look more like you're two months overdue." She pushed away from the table, ignoring the indignant huffing coming from the other woman and started for the door. She stopped just before leaving and turned to look at Krillin. "Can we talk?"

With a sigh, he pushed himself away from the table and went out to meet her, calling over his shoulder, "I'll be back in a sec." When he emerged from the house he found himself pulled around the side to be face to face with 18.

She sighed lightly before she spoke. "Look, I'm gonna start moving my stuff, alright? I really don't think I should stay here any longer."

"Yeah. Um, if you don't mind my asking, what's up with you and Chi-Chi? I kinda get the feeling you don't like her very much."

18 rolled her eyes. "If you REALLY don't know, then I'm not gonna tell you. Look, I gotta go, but I'll see you in a little while, O.K.?" He nodded and she leaned down and gave him a little peck on the cheek. "Bye."

Without so much as another word, 18 took off in the direction of her brother's house, and Krillin trudged back inside.

Chi-Chi was the first to speak. "So, where'd your friend go?"

Krillin gave out a sigh and a small smile. "Ah, she just went ahead and got a jumpstart on moving her stuff out of her brother's house. I said I'd give her a hand, so I can't really stay for too much longer myself."

Chi-Chi and Gohan both looked saddened at the news. "We were hoping you could stay for a while," Gohan said.

Krillin gave the boy a small hug. "Hey, don't worry bro. I'll be back the day after tomorrow. We can do some stuff then. I just gotta help 18 get settled is all." He stood and gave that same grin. "I can't forget about you guys; you're family!" He looked at Chi-Chi. "Oh, and uh… sorry about what 18 said earlier. She's just not really used to being around other people yet. She'll come around. But until then, she probably WON'T come around, if you know what I mean."

Chi-Chi smiled sweetly at him. "O-okay, well… I guess we'll se you later, then."

"Yep. Bye guys! And Gohan, you be good for your mom, hear me?"

Gohan grinned and waved. "Yeah, I will. Bye!"

With one last wave, Krillin darted out the door and took off after 18.

-----

About a half-hour later, Krillin found himself floating over a cabin in the middle of a thick evergreen forest. 'Well, this is the place. Jeez, talk about a hermit! Of course, I'm one to talk...' He dropped down to the ground and walked up to the cabin. 'Heh, I should almost grab a tree while I'm here. It is that time of year, after all.'

As he walked, however, he got this eerie feeling, as if he were being watched. He tried to block it out of his mind, but he couldn't shake the feel of someone's eyes on him, of the sound of another pair of feet in the snow. He knew these were probably just figments of his overactive imagination, but still…

He finally reached the door and found a note attached to it.

_Krillin:_

_I'm already headed back to the island with a load._

_Here's a list of stuff to grab. Don't touch anything else!_

_18._

'Wow, she moves fast,' he thought. He opened the door and removed the list as he stepped inside. He wrinkled his nose up in disgust; the place was a pigsty! Clothes were scattered all over the place, trash and empty cans were strewn about as if no one had cleaned the place for years! 18 didn't seem the type…

It was then he noticed that the clothing was that of a male. 'Ah, that explains it. Her brother.' Making his way through the sea of trash and dirty clothes, he soon reached 18's old room. He paused for a moment, noting the shocking contrast between the two rooms. While the other was a filthy mess, this one was pristine, almost spotlessly clean. Krillin breathed in deeply and was enchanted by the room's smell; everything in there smelled like her, right down to the suitcases that were waiting for him on the bed.

'Well, looks like I'll be moving some clothes this time.' He opened one up and hauled it over to the dresser, only to find the drawer he opened empty. In fact, all of them were empty, except for one. Krillin reached in and removed some of its contents and found himself blushing redder than he ever had before.

There in his hands were some very skimpy and revealing undergarments.

Quick as he could, he reached in for more and tossed them haphazardly into the suitcase, trying hard not to faint from what was happening. Suddenly, he heard a gruff, angry voice call out to him. "HEY!"

He recognized the voice and slowly turned around to be greeted by an enraged Android 17, his hands clenched into fists at his side. His teeth were actually grinding together and Krillin could see the murderous intent in his eyes when he spoke again.

"What are you doing in my house, freak?!"

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_I think I'll end it here for now. Hope you guys liked it, especially a certain someone. And, as a bonus for reading this story and to celebrate the breaking of the 100 review mark, I've got a little gift for you all. For those of you who have the game 'DBZ Budokai Tenkaichi 2', go to the password entry screen and enter the following code: Lxmh )ZMh Tp)# $zug dyA heHv !#-Q !pCD._

_I think you'll like the results! Until next time, please R&R!_


	18. Chapter 18

**One Good Reason**

_Hello! I'm back again. Yay. I know that I left you on a bit of a cliffy for quite a while, but now I'm back. So, let's see if I can't develop something good, here._

**Chapter 18**

18 Flew back toward the mainland, two empty duffle bags clenched in her hands. She was quite proud of herself. So far, she had managed to move almost all of her things without too much fuss, as well as snag some of the few nice things her brother kept around the house, but no one needed to know that. Besides, it wasn't as if he ever used them anyways. The blender, the old clock he kept that he never bothered to even set… all just gathered dust. But now, all she needed was one last load, and she'd be set, completely moved out of her brother's home.

That last thought saddened her a bit. 17 may have been an insensitive jerk, but he WAS her brother, and as such, she felt a slight twinge of guilt for leaving him. For as long as she could remember, which wasn't too far, she admitted, he had been all she had, her only friend. Not to mention an endless source of amusement, as he seemed to enjoy bragging about being 'her big brother, if only by a few minutes'. That would then trigger a debate about which of them was, in fact, the eldest of the twins, although neither really knew…

But that was soon forgotten as she remembered what he had done. He had quite literally thrown her out of the house, told her not bother him anymore. 17 had essentially thrown her out of his life, and there was no way that she could forget that.

So now she would remove her belongings and sever her ties with her brother for good. And although she was feeling mixed emotions about the event, she had to admit… the relief did outweigh the grief. 'Besides,' she reminded herself with a smile, 'look what I stand to gain.'

As time passed, however, and she grew closer to her destination, she couldn't help but feel a slight twang of some intangible emotion. Was it fear? No… it was too mild for that. Whatever it was, 18 somehow knew that something bad was about to happen at her brother's place… and if she wanted to avoid something terrible, she had to hurry.

----------

To say Krillin was afraid would've been an understatement. He was currently in someone else's home without their previous knowledge, and needless to say, he was pretty ticked. Add to that the fact that said homeowner was Android 17, and things did NOT bode well for him. Plus there was the little detail that he had seen Krillin rummaging through 18's underthings, and… Well, he was dead if he couldn't get outta there.

The Android took another step closer to him, eyes burning with rage. "I'll ask you one more time, freakshow! What are you doing in my house?!"

Krillin continued to back away from the enraged Android in front of him, his hands raised in defense. "Um… I swear, this isn't what it looks like at all."

"Oh really? Then what is it? I come here, and find you in MY house, going through my sister's underwear!" 17 proceeded to put his fist through the wall and pulled it forward and out, tearing a good portion of the wall off with it. "Why can't you humans just leave me alone?! I haven't done anything all these months, and now two of you come barging in on my property!! You AND that arrogant son of a…" The rest of the Android's tirade was nothing but a long stream of curses that made Krillin wince up until he heard the familiar term of "Saiyan." After that, it finally clicked who he meant.

"Oh, Vegeta was here?" He scratched the back of his head. "I'd think if he had been, he'dve blown this place clean away. He's none too fond of you, you know."

17 rolled his eyes. "No, I'm stupid. Of course I know that!" He smirked. "However, when His Highness arrived, he was pretty banged up. I had to carry his sorry behind back to his home, with him out cold the whole time. I tell you, if I ever met the guy that did that to him, I'd shake his hand."

Krillin merely chuckled slightly as his eyes began darting around in search of a possible escape route. 'If only you knew,' he thought.

17's merriment soon died down and the scowl returned to his face. "Now, back to the business at hand," he said as he clenched his fist. "I'll tell you what I'm gonna do for you," he said as he stepped over the fallen bits of wall scattered across the floor. "I'm gonna give you one chance to explain what it is you're doing here, and why it is you were going through my sister's… intimates." Krillin couldn't help but be bemused by the fact that 17's face was slightly tinted pink. Apparently, discussing women's underwear was embarrassing whether you were an Android or not. He was shocked to see that 17's face suddenly lowered to meet his, a pair of ice blue eyes boring into his with murderous intent as he raised a fist. "And you've got ten seconds."

Krillin's mind began to race as near panic set in. What was he supposed to do?! If he didn't tell the guy, he'd be dead, yet what would 17 say if he heard that his sister was moving in with him?! He tried one last time to find an escape route when he heard a grunt of "Five seconds…" Without thinking he simply blurted out the truth.

"I wasn't going through her stuff, I was packing it!"

17's fist, which had already begun to make a line for Krillin's face, froze about halfway to his destination. The look on his face was one of shock. He seemed to stay that way for several seconds, not even moving until he finally spoke. "What did you say?"

"Well, uh…s-she said that she needed me to help her move, so… so I said yes, and that was one of the things that was on her list…" He couldn't quite explain why, but he had a feeling that things were about to get much worse.

----------

18 was flying as fast as she could toward her brother's cabin. Within the last few minutes, that worried feeling had gotten much more intense, and there was something tugging at the back of her mind… a deeper worry than that she currently expressed. It was odd, she thought, that she should feel this now, but there was no denying. What she had initially thought to be worry for her own safety had been replaced with that of another.

"Krillin," she whispered, "if you're not O.K. when I get there, I'll thrash you."

Not more than ten seconds later, she felt another tug in her mind, signifying the presence of someone all too familiar. Her brother had arrived home.

18 picked up her speed and soon found herself over her brother's home. She set herself down on the ground a few yards away, hoping to avoid catching 17's constantly wandering eye. Upon her approach from the tree line into the clearing in which the house stood, she could hear voices… which were both well-known to her. One was the voice of her brother, but the other… The other was that same caring voice that had haunted her dreams all those months, the one she had avoided… yet the one that had welcomed her into his life, no questions asked.

'Krillin.'

Suddenly, the voices escalated until they were both shouting, her brother in anger and Krillin in fear… but tinged with some anger as well. Loud crashes and slams could be heard from inside the house, as well as an occasional shout of pain. 18 began to run toward the cabin, fully intent on stopping the two before they seriously hurt each other, when the wall before her seemed to begin to glow for a split second before it was reduced to splinters and a rush of air and energy coupled with the impact of a body sent her flying backwards into the clearing.

It didn't take 18 long to determine who it was that was lying beneath her on the grass. Only one occupant of that cabin was that short. A look of fear crossed 18's face as she shook the little man, trying to wake him. "Krillin? Are you O.K.?"

She soon jerked her head toward a noise coming from the pile of rubble that was once her brother's cabin. Sure enough, there stood 17 without so much as a scratch on him. "Well, this is just great," he said as he dusted off his jeans. "Now I have to look for another place to live. Stupid human, always sticking his non-existent nose into my affairs…"

The next thing he felt was a sharp jolt in his jaw as he stumbled backwards. He looked up to see his sister there, fist still balled from the punch she had delivered. He merely smirked at her. "Well," he said, "Nice to see that you still care, 18. May I ask what that was for?"

18 shot her brother a look that would've made any ordinary man wet himself. "What do you think it was for, you idiot?!" She threw her arm back and pointed at Krillin. "You almost killed him!"

17 raised an eyebrow. "'Almost' killed him? Well, he certainly must've gotten stronger. And here I thought the runt didn't have it in him."

18 began tapping her foot impatiently. "What exactly did he do to tick you off so much anyway? He's absolutely no threat to you, and you know it! So why?!"

17 rolled his eyes at his sister. "Jeez, always looking for an explanation for everything I do. No wonder I kicked you out." He smirked at her. "If you must know, I caught that little perv rummaging through your underwear drawer." His smirk widened as he continued. "He made up some story about you moving in with him, so I figured I'd teach him and his friends what happens when they keep screwing with ME." And here he closed his eyes in mock innocence. "Though I must say, I was as shocked as he was to see some of your undies. I didn't know you even wore things that small…"

18's face flushed as she yelled back, "What I wear beneath my clothes is nobody's business but mine!"

17 smirked and motioned to the small human who was beginning to stir. "Apparently it's his now, too."

Now 17 had seen a lot of things in his short time of being active, but one he hadn't seen more than once or twice was the image he saw before him: There was his sister, blushing beet red as she was forced to avert her gaze and take a sudden interest in her feet, mumbling something incoherent.

"What was that?" he taunted. "I couldn't quite catch it."

18 looked up, cheeks still red and shouted in her brother's face. "I said so what if it is?!"

To say he was shocked was an understatement. But before he could say a single word, a small groan came from the human, and to his horror, he watched as his own sister ran over to him and knelt down beside him, speaking softly to him as she stroked the back of his head, running her fingers through short black hair…

Wait a sec, since when did baldy get hair?

Through the mist of his shock, he was able to note that the human stood and said something about being fine, only to have 18 turn him around and give him a thorough examination of his possible injuries before she rested her own forehead against his and said something about killing him later for scaring her like that, at which the human gave off a nervous laugh.

But if that shocked him, nothing could've prepared him for what came next. Taking his head in her hands, she tilted his face toward hers and she… she…

She KISSED him!

Granted, it had been a small, quick one, but… to see her, 18 doing that… with a HUMAN?! But suddenly, it all made sense! The way she'd look out into space while they'd been hunting Goku, the way she'd insisted on focusing on her job rather than be distracted… the times he'd wake up at night and hear her moan his name in her dreams only two months ago… which also happened to be about the time she'd gone 'lingerie shopping' as she'd called it… something about not wearing any drawing too much unwelcome male attention… but now he knew better. In a fit of rage, he stormed over to the remains of his cabin, grabbed her bag, which had been relatively unharmed, and threw it at her, making solid contact with the back of her head.

"You've been planning this, haven't you?! This whole time, you were going to go to HIM, weren't you?!"

18 turned to see 17 staring down at her, shaking in his anger. She returned his glare for a moment before she steadied herself and her face returned to its normal blank state. "Well, if you must know… I was considering it."

17 began shaking even harder and his breathing became audible. "I knew it! I knew you were planning to go to him! Why?! After everything we've been through, you were planning to just up and run off to… to HIM!"

"HE has a name, you know!" 18 spat back.

17's demeanor suddenly changed from nearly homicidal to… almost jovial. "Of course he does, 18," he laughed. "All animals have a name."

18 could now feel herself begin to shake. "Krillin is NOT an animal! And for your information, I was considering going to him, but you know what kept me from doing it?! YOU!"

17 snorted and rolled his eyes. "I mean it, 17," she continued. "As much as I wanted to, I couldn't bring myself to do it because I couldn't stand the thought of leaving you alone. But you know what REALLY made me reconsider?" She poked him in the chest. "YOUR attitude, that's what! You kept shirking all the chores, you refused to do any of your own shopping, and on top of that, you would bring women home from those stupid places you'd go to hang out and entertain them through the night when I don't have so much as a bedroom door to block the noises out! Then when I complain, you literally KICK ME OUT!!"

18 stepped back and crossed her arms over her chest. "That's why I'm leaving with Krillin. He actually respects me, unlike you."

17 just stared blankly at her for a moment before he busted into uproarious laughter. "Hahaha, I knew it! I KNEW you would get attached! You're too weak to go for the pleasures without the attachment!"

18 narrowed her eyes and growled at her brother as she absentmindedly tucked her hair behind her ear, a gesture that made 17 smile. It was a sure sign he was getting to her. "I figured you'd seek one out sooner or later. Hormones are hormones, after all." He then cast a disgusted look at Krillin. "But to get attached to one… and THAT one out of all of them?!" He chuckled. "I didn't know you were THAT desperate."

18 also chanced a look at Krillin, who's face was turned down as he appeared to be trying not to cry as her brother continued. "I mean, come on, look at him! I've scrapped better looking stuff off the bottom of my shoe!"

That was the final straw for 18 as she reared back and met her brother's face in a full backhand slap. She took advantage of his stunned silence to walk over to Krillin and place her bag in his hand. "C'mon, let's go," she said. She couldn't help but frown as he didn't reply, but just floated off into the air without even bothering to lift his gaze.

18 began to follow suit, but was stopped by her brother's hand gripping her arm. "Listen to me and listen good," he ground out through gritted teeth. "You'd better not bother coming around me anymore, you hear me? Because if you do…" he looked up into her eyes. "I'll kill him. I swear to every deity in the universe, I will kill that little FREAK! You hear me, you whore?! See how happy you'll be then!"

18 didn't even bother to dignify him with a response as she wrenched her arm out of his grasp and flew off into the eastern sky.

17 just stood there in the clearing staring at the remnants of his cabin. That… that ANIMAL had cost him his house, his sister… EVERYTHING!

"Oh yes… one day, I WILL kill him!" he muttered as he began to poke through the rubble in an attempt to salvage what he could.

"Stupid human!"

----------

18 had caught up with Krillin relatively quickly, and the two had traveled at a slow pace back to the island. She couldn't help but notice that during that time, he hadn't looked at her, or even spoke so much as a word to her the whole trip. Apparently her brother's words had more of an effect on him than she thought.

She decided she needed to talk to him. Chances were that he'd need some reinforcement in a certain area, but the last thing she needed was that old pervert trying to pry. So, she decided to enter her room through a different venue.

She was delighted that she had remembered to leave that bedroom window unlocked before she left for that last load. And sure enough, she could clearly see Krillin in his room across the hall, sitting on his mattress. She was about to enter and go to him when another thought struck her. It was twilight here on the island now, and she had always enjoyed looking up at the stars. Perhaps Krillin would enjoy it too.

She flew around the house to his window and tapped on it lightly. She greeted him with a small smile when he looked up at her, but to her surprise, he almost seemed more pained than before as he once again hid his face from her. Why he seemed so upset, she didn't know, but she was determined to find out.

18 slid hi window open and climbed into his room, taking a seat beside him on the mattress. She gently placed a hand on his shoulder an turned him to face her. "What's wrong?" she asked. "Is it what 17 said?"

Krillin sighed and once again averted his gaze. "Kinda. I just… You'd think I'd be used to that by now. But... what he said…" He finally turned to face her and looked into her eyes, silent tears falling down his cheeks. "You're so beautiful and strong… so perfect… and I'm so… weak and…" He once again lowered his gaze and tried to hide his face from her.

18 sat stunned for a moment, both from the compliment and from the revelation presented to her. He honestly thought he wasn't good enough because of how he looked or how strong he was? 'Well,' she thought, 'it's time to put a stop to that argument.'

18 gently place her hand on Krillin's shoulder. "Krillin… look at me. Please?"

Krillin's eyes widened a bit. 18 saying please was… well, a first. So he did as asked, and immediately found himself mesmerized by her beautiful blue eyes.

"Krillin, do you honestly think I'm that shallow? Now I'll admit, you may not be the most gorgeous man on the planet, or the strongest fighter in the universe, but… that's not what I see anyway." She smiled slightly at him, as he continued to stare into her eyes. "Do you want to know what draws me to you?" she asked.

He nodded and she continued. "What I see is under the skin. Believe me, I of all people know that things aren't what they appear to be on the surface. But what I saw was the kindness you showed to me, and to everyone else. The fact that you were willing to do anything for the sake of the ones you love, even if it could kill you… and that you would show kindness even to an enemy." She blushed slightly at the memory of the things he had done for her.

"The truth is… that's where your 'beauty' comes from. Your heart. It's also the source of your strength… your courage… in some ways, you're stronger than me. I know I never could've done some of the things you've done…" She rolled her eyes. "Especially sparing Vegeta."

Both of them chuckled slightly at that comment, and Krillin was shocked as she leaned down and planted a gentle kiss on his cheek. "Besides," she whispered, "I think you're pretty cute."

She pulled back and giggled at the sputtering, blushing man in front of her. "Especially like that," she said with a wink, causing his condition to become worse.

18 then stood up and reached out her hand for him. "Now, come look at the stars with me." Krillin smiled and took her hand, allowing her to lead him onto the roof. Upon reaching their destination, the couple laid down together, snuggled next to each other, just staring up into the night sky.

After a few moments, Krillin spoke. "Hey, 18?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

18 smirked at him. "No problem, shorty." She then snuggled into his shoulder a little more. "Now shut up before you ruin the moment."

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_Well, there you have it! Lemme know what you thought! See Ya!_


	19. Chapter 19

**One Good Reason**

_Guess who__'__s back?!_

…_Nope, not him. Not him either. Nope, not… wait… Nope, I__'__m not him after all!_

_I__'__m back, folks! I__'__ve decided to grace you with my presence after almost a year! You poor, poor deprived people. Yes, many of you thought that I had abandoned this work, (though if I had, it would be a good place to end it… sorta. Better than some stories where the author just drops the story in the middle of a crucial plot point…) but no! I have returned! You may dance before your computer now._

_Enough dancing! On with the story!_

* * *

**Chapter 19**

As dawn broke through the dark clouds that hung over the island, the figure of an old man could bee seen tossing and turning in his bed. He seemed to be enjoying himself, as the occasional perverse cackle would suggest.

* * *

_In his dream, he and all his friends were seated at a table, laughing and enjoying themselves, a scene he recognized as being their last holiday gathering, with the exception of a few new faces. __'__Oh well,__'__ he thought to himself. __'__Just a minor detail, I guess.__'__ His eyes continued to wander behind his dark glasses until they finally came to rest on the one occupying the space two seats over. Bulma seemed to be listening intently to something that Yamcha was saying, because she clearly didn__'__t notice the fact that the skirt of her red and green Christmas dress was riding dangerously high._

_Roshi grinned. This was the perfect opportunity to cash in on some Christmas cheer, as he__'__d done in every dream he__'__d had about this day in the past; he__'__d just subtley reach over and give her rump a good squeeze. Then she__'__d simply ignore it and move on, simply counting it as the old man__'__s Christmas and birthday gift combined, and Roshi__'__d have fuel for his dreams for yet another year._

_He whistled as he stretched, preparing to score himself a mound of flesh… when he finally realized who it was that was in the seat next to him. Roshi__'__s eyes went wide and his arm flew back to his side as Vegeta turned to him. "What are you looking at, old fool?" he asked. Roshi managed to let out a weak laugh and looked away as Vegeta snorted and did the same._

_Roshi__'__s heart sank. This was horrible! How was he supposed to score now?! There was no way Vegeta would ever let him get away with it, attachment to Bulma or not! He was doomed…_

_Wait… no he wasn__'__t! He knew that Bulma might get slightly irritated when he did that, but she CERTAINLY wouldn__'__t allow Vegeta to kill him for it! …Would she? __'__Oh well, it__'__s only a dream,__'__ the old man thought to himself. Without thinking twice, he thrust out his hand and latched onto his target. Roshi was in heaven. It felt so soft, yet so firm…_

_In fact… it felt a little too firm. Like it was more than toned… almost muscular. Roshi looked up in shock only to find that every person at the table was staring at him with eyes as wide as satellite dishes and pale faces. Roshi felt himself go pale and turned to look for himself…_

_And found his hand was firmly attached to Vegeta__'__s butt._

_Roshi was trembling now, his eyes twice as wide as anyone else__'__s, but for the life of him, he just couldn__'__t seem to let go. He panicked, knowing that at any second, Vegeta would turn and see this before brutally killing him in some unknown alien way that was probably too horrible to describe._

_Vegeta, to the contrary, seemed to be enjoying the experience, which only served to further disturb the old man, who was attempting to saw his hand off with a butter knife. A small, arrogant smirk had settled onto the Saiyan__'__s lips. "Well woman," he said, glancing over at Bulma, "Had you told me you wanted me so badly, I would__'__ve come prepared." He noticed everyone staring at him from across the table and growled. "What? What are you idiots looking at?!__" He folded his arms in front of him__. "If it bothers you so much, then you can leave." He felt a poke at his shoulder and whirled to face Bulma. "What is it now, woman?" Bulma pulled a nervous __–__and slightly disturbed- grin and showed Vegeta her hands. Both of her free, non-groping hands._

_Roshi saw Vegeta__'__s face go pale and eye begin twitching. Said prince turned to look at Roshi, who was now furiously gnawing on his own arm. Roshi felt a pair of eyes burrowing into his skull and looked up into the now-furious eyes of Vegeta, nostrils flaring, teeth grinding and a low growl emanating from his throat. Roshi let out a nervous chuckle and slowly removed his teeth from his own arm._

_Vegeta was almost furious beyond words. "What. In GOD__'__S NAME. DO YOU THINK YOU__'__RE DOING?!" the prince screamed, flinging the old man out of his chair, his hand finally detaching from it__'__s former position._

_Roshi rolled on the floor and stood, trying desperately to explain himself. "N-no! I__'__m sorry, it was a mistake, I was aiming for B-uh, someone else! Yeah…"_

_Vegeta raised a hand and fired…_

A loud boom resounded and Roshi fell to the floor, struggling to escape the entanglements of… his sheets? He sat up and scratched his head in confusion. "Huh, must've been a dream." He climbed up off the floor and looked out his window. "Looks like a storm blew in, too. Seem to be getting' a few of those lately. Ah well." He grabbed the tray on his nightstand before heading down the stairs. "That's the last time I eat this stuff before bed. And they say tofu's supposed to be good for you…"

Krillin was soaked.

No two ways around it, no way of putting it delicately, he was simply sopping wet. Wet and nursing a sore spot on his shoulder where 18 had punched him. How was HE supposed to know that there was a storm blowing in? Besides, SHE was the one who wanted to go look at the stars.

Still, despite all that, there was something almost attractive about that temper of hers. Krillin smiled to himself. 'Maybe this is a sign. Maybe it means we were meant to be together?'

"ACHOOO!" Krillin wiped his nose and slouched.

'Maybe it's a sign I've been hit in the head one too many times. Well, I better get a mop before Master Roshi slips and breaks his neck.' He managed to take about three steps before his feet nearly slid out from under him. 'Jeez, I think we brought in _all_ the rain that fell. I've seen less water in a swimming pool. Am I like, part sponge or something?' He heard the downstairs bathroom door open. 'Well, sounds like 18 is done in the shower. I better tell her to watch her…'

Krillin's jaw hit the floor. Out of the bathroom walked none other than Android 18 wearing nothing but a towel. A _small _towel left over from when he'd first arrived on the island as a kid. As it was, she was almost exposed, having to use most of it just to go past her lower regions; she barely had enough of it left to bundle up over her chest, and even then it covered only the bare essentials.

18 sighed. She knew what he was doing even before she saw. "Roll, the tongue in, shorty. Unless you plan on catching a fish with it." She smiled slightly at his still-stupefied face. "Well, the attention IS flattering and all…" her eyes narrowed as she looked toward the stairs. "But I'd really rather not be stuck like this when the old man gets down here. Where can I find at least a bigger towel?"

Krillin numbly pointed toward a doorway behind him. "Laundry hamper in there. Lots of towels… very… soft…"

18 rolled her eyes. "Riiight… well, while you try to recover your brain, I'll just grab one myself."

It was at that moment that Krillin's brain snapped back into action. "N-no, don't! The floor's all wet!" he called out. But he was too late; 18 had already stepped onto the sopping wet floor and was skidding across the kitchen floor… straight for him.

The two collided with a loud thud and continued skidding until they came to a halt in the little room.

18 regained her balance and took a look around. "Wow… small room, huh?"

"Yeah," came a muffled voice from underneath her. "It's the linen closet.. or something. Roshi keeps the towels and sheets in here. Um… look, I hate to bring this up, but…"

18 looked down at her feet and noticed two things; first of all, a pair of short legs flat on the floor stuck out from between hers. And second… she was naked. She looked around franticly, hoping to find where her towel had gone.

"Alright, I REALLY can't see, but I'm guessing you're kinda freaked about your towel right now." Krillin chuckled nervously. "Well, it's, uh… on my face at the moment, and coupled with the fact that I have my eyes clamped shut, I can't see a thing, so… um… Just grab a bigger one, I guess."

Krillin heard a little more rustling, the sound of the hamper lid falling and then quiet. Well, maybe it was quiet. It was hard to tell with a chorus of 'Please don't let me see anything or she'll kill me' running through his head… followed closely by Master Roshi's age-old adage of 'Well, at least I'd die happy!' He made a mental note to purge that out of his system before 18 did it for him. He was pretty sure her method wouldn't be pleasant.

A sudden addition of light interrupted his thoughts. 'Well, she's taken the towel off me. That's a good sign… I hope.'

"You know, it occurs to me," 18 said thoughtfully. "I could be doing anything right now and you wouldn't know, would you?"

'Alright, maybe not such a good thing after all.' "Um, I guess so."

"So I could be completely nude and you wouldn't know. Or I could be aiming an energy ball right at your head." She leaned closer to him. "I guess the only way to know is to open your eyes, right? So why don't you?"

"Um… b-because… I-I, uh… I trust you… and looking wouldn't be appropriate until you said so…"

"And how do you know you can trust me, hmm?"

"Well, I think… if you were going to do something, you'd have done it… by… now. Right?"

18 smiled. "Alright shorty, I'm done teasing you. You can open your eyes and get up now."

Krillin climbed to his feet and hesitantly opened an eye. Much to his relief, 18 was covered by a much larger beach towel. "Well, that's a bit better for my sanity at least," he chuckled. Much to his surprise, 18 then leaned down and gave him a peck on the cheek. He rubbed his cheek and smiled. "What was that for?" he asked.

18 smirked. "That's for not looking."

"WOOHOO! So when do I get _my _turn in the closet with 18? Hehehehe…"

18 scowled at the unseen old man. "I swear, one more comment like that and your nose will bleed for a VERY different reason, understand?"

Roshi popped out from around the corner. "Alright, alright, no need for violence, now. Why's everyone awake this early anyway?"

Krillin laughed sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck. "We sorta fell asleep on the roof last night. Went stargazing and sorta drifted off. Got woke up by about three hundred gallons of water pouring down on us."

"Why are you awake, old man?" 18 asked.

"Me," the old man laughed. "I just… needed to take some antacid, that's all. I didn't have any weird dreams. Not at all…" Roshi was cackling like a madman as he slid over to the cupboard. "I'll just grab this and go back to bed…" He latched onto the first bottle he found and ran back upstairs. "YoukidshavefunBYE!"

18 chuckled. "If he takes that stuff, he'll be the on having fun."

"Why do you say that?" Krillin asked.

"Because that's a laxative."

Krillin laughed. "Guess he's in for a surprise then, huh?" He took a quick look at his watch. "Well, I better change and head out."

18 raised an eyebrow. "You're going somewhere?"

"Yeah. I promised Gohan I'd hang out with him today after I had to leave yesterday." Krillin could've sworn he actually saw 18's hair stand up a little. "Uh… is something wrong?"

"So you're going to be at that woman's house?"

"Uh, yeah. For a little while, anyways. I gotta head to the mall first." He paused before adding, "Did you wanna come? It'd be a great chance for you and Chi-Chi to get to know each other…"

18 turned and headed for the stairs. "I'd rather not, thanks."

Krillin frowned slightly. "Alright then. I guess I'll head out then. See you later.

"Whatever," she called from midway on the stairs.

Krillin slumped his shoulders. 'Man, I wish she'd just try to get along with Chi-Chi. I mean, she's great once you get to know her. Oh well.' He spared one last look at the clock. 'Heck, by the time I show up, Gohan'll probably need a break from his studies anyway.'

* * *

Gohan sighed. Today was an especially hard day for him. Not really that much different from the norm; he woke up, ate breakfast, and hit the books until his brain was nothing more than a mess of Xs, Ys, numerators and square roots. Again, no different than usual. But there was one factor that was different.

Krillin had called and said he'd be coming today.

When he'd heard it, he'd been happy. His mom had even seemed happier than usual about it, for some odd reason. But what Gohan hadn't counted on was both the fact that the waiting made time seem to drag on as long as possible, but his mother had insisted that he finish most of his work before Krillin's arrival. It hardly seemed fair, but he'd been willing. It wasn't often he got to play with… well, anyone really.

The last hour had seemed especially long, though. One of his best friends was coming to visit, it was a nice crisp day outside, and he'd been pouring over algebraic equations until they seemed to be one giant jumble in his brain. He was almost beginning to regret his decision, when…

"Hey kiddo! Nice day, huh?"

Gohan's head snapped up so fast that it audibly cracked. He immediately sprung from his seat and dive tackled the figure in his window, sending the two of them flying about twenty feet. "KRILLIN!"

The two of them landed on the ground with a thud, skidding another five feet before finally coming to a stop in the midst of some fallen leaves. Gohan began spouting a mile a minute. "Good to see ya, Krillin! Mom told me you were coming! She made me get all my work done so we could spend time together, which I thought was a little harsh, but I figured 'no big deal', y'know, but do know how hard it is to do advanced math for hours and hours…?"

"Nice to see you too, buddy," Krillin gasped out. "But could you please get up? I can't feel my legs."

Gohan leapt to his feet. "Oh gosh! I'm sorry!" He held out his hand. "Here, let me help you up!" Krillin took the hand and felt himself yanked straight to his feet. "Did I hurt you?"

Krillin laughed. "Nah. Just kinda banged me up a little. I'll be fine. But anyways, I brought you a surprise." He held out a small shopping bag. "Something we can do together."

Gohan eagerly took the bag and pulled out the tissue paper-covered object. He ripped away all the paper to find…

"A half-flattened giant coconut?"

Krillin chuckled. "No Gohan, it's a football! You throw it to me, I throw it back to you… get it?"

Gohan smiled. "Cool! I've never played this game before! Looks like fun! Can we start now?"

"Uh, sure, I guess. We need to get in an open area to throw it, though." The two moved into the clearing surrounding the house. 'Yes, perfect!' Krillin thought to himself. 'A gentle breeze, level ground…' "Hey, Gohan! Let play here, alright?"

"Okay! So then, how do I throw it? With the point ends to the sides, or…"

"No, you throw it with the, uh, 'pointy ends' to the front and back, one facing forward, and one facing behind you." He thought for a moment and added. "I guess I should also tell you to grip the laces when you throw the ball. It helps it spiral better."

Gohan looked at the ball. "I see. Is that important or something?"

"Yeah, it helps the ball go further and makes it easier to catch."

"Oh, I get it!" He moved his fingers over the laces. "So I hold it like this, right?"

Krillin grinned. "Yeah, that's about right. It'll take you a while to find the position that's best for you, but that's a good starter there."

Gohan grinned. "Okay, here goes…!"

"GOHAN!! YOU GET YOUR DELINQUENT BUTT IN HERE AND PUT A SWEATER ON! YOU KNOW IT"S TOO COLD TO PLAY OUTSIDE WITHOUT ONE!"

Chi-Chi stormed out of the house. "And your homework better be done or else…" she saw Krillin and froze.

Krillin smiled nervously and waved. "Hey, Chi-Chi. You look nice."

Chi-Chi crossed her arms in front of her. "Well, the least someone could've done was told me Krillin was here before I made myself look foolish."

"Sorry, Chi. I just sorta figured you knew I was here, with the way the kid yelled and all..."

She placed her hands on her hips. "Well, if you must know, I just woke up from a small nap. I _am_ pregnant, you know."

"Sorry, Mom," Gohan called over his shoulder as he ran to the house. "I'll go get my sweater."

"Be sure to wipe your feet first!" she called after him. "I swear, that boy… he can be dense sometimes."

Krillin chuckled softly. "Yeah, well… he IS Goku's son."

Chi-Chi allowed a soft smile of her own. "He certainly is."

Krillin scuffed a shoe across a rock on the ground. "So… how're you guys holdin' out? I mean, did you need anything, or…?

"No, no we're fine." Chi-Chi sighed. "I just worry about Gohan sometimes. He and his dad always did stuff together, and now that he's gone… I mean, I'm no pampered princess… well, not pampered, anyway, but there's only so much I can do in my condition…" She began tearing up. "I just wish that I could be there for him as much as his dad was."

Krillin walked up to her and hugged her lightly. "I know the feeling. I really miss Goku too, and I wish I could do some of the stuff he did, but… I can't do everything, y'know?" He smiled. "But that doesn't mean I won't do what I can."

Chi-Chi was confused. "Krillin… what are you saying?"

"I'm saying that… well, if he ever needs someone to hang out with, just call me. I mean, he is like my best bud and all." He flashed that ridiculously large grin. "Just say the word and I'll be here A.S.A.P., alright?"

"HEY, HEADS UP!" Gohan cried.

Krillin and Chi-Chi turned to see the football falling through the air at an impossible speed.

Krillin's face went blank. "Now if my knowledge of trajectory serves me… factoring in my luck…"

THUNK!!

The football hit between his eyes so hard that it flew back through the air in the opposite direction.

"Yep," Krillin muttered weakly. "Right between the eyes." He then fell to the ground, out cold.

Gohan stared at Krillin's prone form laying on the ground. "Gosh, did I kill him?"

Chi-Chi looked at her son. "Gohan, sweetie, I think we need to work on your aim next."

* * *

At the Kame House, Roshi was on his way out the door when the phone began to ring. "Yeah, yeah, I'm coming." He picked up the phone. "Hello?"

"_Roshi? It'__s Chi-Chi. I__'__m calling because… well, there__'__s been an accident."_

Roshi stiffened. "Are you alright? Did something happen to the baby?"

"_No, nothing like that…"_

"Thank goodness," Roshi sighed.

"_Actually, it'__s Krillin. He and Gohan were throwing a ball around and…"_

"And Krillin got hit in the head, right?"

"_Yeah… Anyways, he went down pretty hard, and he'__s out cold right now."_

Roshi laughed. "Don't worry about that boy, m'dear, he's been hit in the head worse than that by Goku even. He'll be up and around before nightfall."

Chi-Chi sighed. _"Still, I'__m gonna keep him here for the night just to make sure there aren__'__t any symptoms that might flare up. He__'__s closer to the nearest hospital here."_

"Alright, if you think it's necessary." Roshi stretched his free arm. "Now I'm off to the mainland for a while, so I might call in later to see if anything's changed, alright?"

"_Alright then. Good-bye, Roshi."_

"G'bye." Roshi hung the phone up on its base and started out the door. 'I wonder if I should tell 18?' he asked himself. 'Nah, she knows he can take care of himself. Now to find an anti-laxative, and fast!'

* * *

Meanwhile, about ten miles from the Son household, Piccolo hovered near a waterfall, trying to sleep- er, meditate. Suddenly, he was disturbed from his rest when a football slammed him in the face.

"DIE, POOH-BEAR!" He screamed as he blasted a hole in the canyon wall. His breathing soon slowed, as he realized that he was now awake. "Wow… that was some dream…"

"Darn kids putting tofu sauce in my water again…

_For those of you who wondered why I__'__ve been gone so long, let me just say my home life has been VERY hectic, and this really WAS the soonest I could update. Sorry. Hope this was worth the wait._

_And if anyone wants to ask me about the Tofu thing, feel free! See Ya!_


	20. Chapter 20

**One Good Reason**

_I'm back again, guys. Things have kinda settled down a bit around the ol' homestead, so I've got a bit more free time on my hands than I used to, which means that I should be able to update a bit more often now. I know, I know, I've said it before, but this time I mean it. No more year-long gaps. I promise._

_Anyways, Time to get on with the story, eh?_

* * *

**Chapter 20**

_All around him, a heavy fog twisted and swirled around him, twisting and swirling as if alive. Above him, a pitch black darkness that seemed to swallow all light that approached it. The place seemed to be void of all life, yet he could hear the whispers of everyone he knew float around him, echoing off of seemingly invisible walls._

_Krillin ran his fingers through his hair. 'Wow', he thought to himself, 'never been here before.' He sighed and slumped his shoulders. 'Somehow when I heard about all these revelations and such that people got while unconscious, I expected this to be… well, something other than this' He began trudging through the fog . 'Guess I better check the place out, huh?'_

* * *

Gohan stood by the couch staring at Krillin's prone form. "Gosh, mom, that's a pretty big lump on his forehead. And he's already been out for a few hours now… Are you sure he'll be alright?"

Chi-Chi carefully lifted Krillin's head from the couch and placed a pillow under his head. "Sweetie, I'm sure he'll be fine. From what you've told me, he's been hit much harder than that before and walked away. He just needs some rest." She brushed a loose strand of hair away from her face and stood slowly. "Ugh, I used to move around so much better just a month ago." She said as she placed a hand on her stomach. "But this little one just keeps getting bigger every day"

Gohan smiled. "What's it gonna be, mom? Am I gonna have a little brother or sister?"

"I don't know, sweetie. I'd kind of like to wait to find out until it's born." She gently rubbed her belly. "Kind of makes it seem more exciting that way, I guess. Your father and I wanted it that way with you, too." She smiled. "We didn't care, so long as you were healthy, and it was fun trying to guess what you'd be. I actually thought you'd be a girl at first…"

"Ew!" Gohan pulled a face. "Tell me you're kidding!"

Chi-Chi chuckled slightly as she smoothed the wrinkles from the front of her dress. "Not at all. In fact, I was so busy trying to find a good name for a girl that when you turned out to be a boy, your father and I didn't even have a name picked out for you." She placed her hand in the small of her back and stretched. "We actually had to take you back to the hospital and get your name put on your birth certificate."

Gohan scratched his head. "Well, that's nice… I guess." He lowered his head. "But how could you think I was a girl?" he mumbled.

"Gohan, it's not that big a deal." Chi-Chi raised an eyebrow. "You act as if I was even dressing you as a girl."

Gohan scuffed his shoe against the floor. "'M sorry, Mom."

Chi-Chi patted her son on the head. "It's okay, sweetie. It's getting dark, though. You better head up to bed, okay?" She held up a finger. "Remember, you've got tests tomorrow!" She couldn't help but chuckle as her son scurried up the stairs faster than she could blink. "Now, to get to those dishes…"

* * *

"_GREAT! Just great!" Krillin stood hunched with his hands on his knees, breathing heavily."'I've been walking through my own head for hours and I'm out of breath! How does that even happen?!" He winced and rubbed his calf. "Not to mention I've got a leg cramp and a half…" He stopped rubbing. "How the heck does that HAPPEN when I'm in my freaking HEAD?!" He shouted, the noise reverberating off of… nothing._

"_Great, now I've got a phantom echo. Well, we're just having all kinds of fun screwing with the laws of physics, aren't we?" He clamped his eyes shut and ran a shaky hand through his hair. "Jeez, it's like they don't exist at all." He sighed. "What next, am I gonna fly? Well actually, I guess that wouldn't prove much, since I CAN fly…" His eyes snapped open with the realization. "God, I am so stupid!" He thumped himself on the forehead. "Why was I walking all that time when I could fly to where I wanna go?!"_

_Krillin slowly pushed himself away from the ground and looked down at a thick blanket of white fog. "Ah. That's why." He floated down until he was just a few feet from the ground. "Guess I'll just have to fly low, then."_

* * *

18 sat on her half-made bed, staring out the window, clutching a stress relief ball in her hand. 'It's been hours,' she thought to herself, her hand involuntarily tightening its grip on the little rubber ball. 'He's been at that woman's house all day, at least four hours longer than he said he would be.' She squeezed the ball even tighter. 'He missed dinner, he missed that ridiculous show he always watches with those fools trying to decide whose line it is, and if he doesn't get here soon…' She squeezed the ball so hard it exploded with a loud pop. 'I am SO going to make him regret it.' She tossed the deflated hunk of rubber out her bedroom door.

'Why does he go to her house anyways? ' She looked over at the full-length mirror hanging on the wall by her dresser. 'It's not like he doesn't have anything worth staying for'. She frowned. 'Or does he?' She stood and walked down the hallway. 'I'm not entirely certain what it is that men like. I know that my brother seemed to like the girls that wore tiny clothes.' She stopped in front of a door with a dimly glowing light emitting from underneath and the sounds of an old man's deliriously happy cackling. She looked down and fixed her ice blue eyes on a single magazine that lay on the floor in front of the door and picked it up. 'And the old pervert seems to like girls from these magazines…' Her eyes shot wide open at the contents. "Oh my…" she whispered.

18 quickly clamped her mouth shut and slinked away from the door and back to her room. When she was sure the old man hadn't followed her, she opened the magazine again to another page. 'Odd,' she thought, 'these women aren't shaped much differently from me… Perhaps it's the things that they're doing to themselves that the men like…?'

18 took a moment to mull it over before dropping the magazine on the floor. "Yeah," she muttered to herself, "let's consider that an absolute EXTREME last resort." She looked in the mirror one more time. "Still, I suppose a change of wardrobe wouldn't hurt too much somewhere along the line." She pounded her fist into her palm. "But in the meantime, I'm going to hunt that little man down and make him think TWICE before standing ME up again."

* * *

_Krillin floated a few feet off the ground, attempting to scan the horizon of his mindscape. "Great. Fly for an hour, go in one single direction, don't deviate from the path, yadda, yadda… STILL nothing!" He lowered himself to the ground. "Maybe I should just stay put. Wait to wake up or something." He sat down and rested his chin on his knees. "Can't really be any worse than wandering around this place nonstop, could it?"_

_He began tapping a hand against the ground. "Let's see, what to do, what to do… I can always try to remember all the lyrics to every song I remember… I could try balancing on one finger… Ooh, I could flip a coin, that's always fun…"_

_A faint whisper reached his ears. "You don't want to do any of that," a soft voice seemed to purr into his ear._

_Krillin felt a pleasant tingle run down his spine and closed his eyes in ecstasy. "I-I don't…?"_

"_No," the voice whispered. "You want to come to me."_

"_Yeah…" he whispered as he followed the voice._

"_Almost there, baby…"_

"_Almost…" he replied as he entered a clearing in the fog._

_Krillin's eyes shot wide open. There in the clearing, draped over a bench wearing a sheer white gown, was…_

"_18?" Krillin's jaw nearly fell through the floor. "Y-you l-l-look… WOW!"_

_18 smiled. "Why thank you." She tilted her head slightly, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "You know, I dressed this way just for you. She slowly sat up, draping an arm over his shoulder. "You like?" she asked as she pulled him in closer._

_Krillin's entire body felt electrified and numb at the same time. "Uh-huh," he managed to squeak out._

"_How much?" she asked, running her fingers through his hair._

"_So much…."_

"_Then show me," she whispered as she brought her lips to his…_

_A sudden gust of wind blew in, causing the two of them to pull away suddenly as the fog around them was whipped up into a frenzy. Krillin felt himself jerked left and right from the force, trying with all his might just to hold his footing as 18 gripped the marble bench to keep from being swept up. Suddenly the fog began taking shape, and a pair of glowing red eyes could be seen within it. The shadowy figure began moving, darting forward, left, right, behind him, all of it too fast for Krillin to keep track. He felt his head begin to throb as the dizziness took its toll…_

"_Well, well, isn't THIS a familiar scenario?"_

_Krillin's entire body froze up; He knew that voice. That deep, smooth, evil voice that taunted him in his nightmares._

"_No way… no WAY! You're dead! You can't be here; I saw you die!"_

_A menacing laugh echoed throughout his mind. "Well, gee, seems like I CAN be here, doesn't it?"_

* * *

Chi-Chi stared menacingly at the plate in front of her. "So, the last dish, eh? The one that _never_ seems to want to get clean." She slowly reached under the sink. "Well, let's see how well you can resist this:" She pulled out a box and removed: "STEEL WOOL!" She began scrubbing furiously at the plate. "No dish is gonna beat _me_!"

Bangbangbang!

Chi-Chi jumped and dropped the plate back into the sink. 'Jeez, who's gonna be at the door at this hour?!' Wiping her hands on her apron, she made her way over to the door. "I'm coming, I'm coming, hang on…"

She opened the door and was shocked to see none other than Android 18, arms crossed, foot tapping…

And _mad._

The Android girl pushed past her and entered the living room. "Alright," she muttered with an icy tone, "where is he?"

Chi-Chi scowled. "Well, aren't we a rude little thing? Just who exactly do you think you're looking for, anyway?"

18 returned the glare. "Stow it, lady. Just tell me where Krillin is."

Chi-Chi's glare intensified. "Jeez, what's your problem? He's right where I said he'd be!"

"I don't have any idea what you're talking about." 18's face went blank." What do you mean, where you said he'd be?"

"He's right there on the couch! Jeez, I only called Roshi and told him what happened! Doesn't the man pass on messages anymore?"

18 marched over to the couch to find the little man curled up in a ball, fast asleep. Chi-Chi noticed this seemed to make the Android even angrier and took a step back.

Finally, the girl lost her temper. "Oh, _I _get it! We make plans, and you decide to blow me off so you can sleep over here on some woman's _couch_?! What , am I _that _horrible that you can't stand to be around me?!"

The little man didn't so much as stir. This did not help 18's temper. She raised a hand and slapped him on the back of the head! "Wake up, bonehead!!"

"Hey!" Chi-Chi grabbed her arm. "That's enough! He can't even hear you! He's hurt!"

18's rage seemed to disappear in an instant. "He… got hurt?"

Chi-Chi sighed. "Yes. Gohan accidentally hit him in the head pretty hard. He's been out ever sense."

Chi-Chi was shocked to see the Android's eyes soften as she looked with genuine concern at Krillin's prone form. Without a word, 18 slid down to her knees on the floor. Finally, she spoke. "I… I'm staying here. Until he wakes up."

Chi-Chi sighed. "That old man really doesn't pass messages on anymore." She rubbed her temples. "Alright, I guess. Seeing as you're his friend and all…"

18 didn't speak. Didn't even move. She just sat there, staring.

* * *

_Krillin whirled around, trying desperately to locate the source of the voice, but saw only the darkness. "Where are you? Show yourself, you freak!"_

"_Well, you're a fine one to be calling ANYONE else a 'freak', aren't you." The laughter once again echoed around the room. "But if you really want to know where I am… just look behind you."_

_Krillin spun around to see the fully formed Cell standing right behind him. "You! You monster!" He felt his hands ball into fists as his power level slowly began rising. "You're dead, you hear me?!"_

_Cell wagged a finger at him. "Ah-ah-ah, we both know you can't beat me."_

_Krillin's teeth began grinding together. "Maybe not…" His power level exploded around him. "But I'm sure as heck gonna try!" He flung himself at the monster in front of him, all his energy focused into his fists as he slammed his fist into the monster's midsection again and again, pummeling without mercy._

_He flipped away and charged again, sweeping his leg toward the monsters head…_

_Cell reached up and grabbed his leg before it made contact and flung him away effortlessly. He felt pain shoot through his skull as the back of his head collided with the hard floor. He pulled himself up, clutching at his head, trying not to scream from the pain. 'Why does this hurt so much…?' He looked at Cell. 'That monster… not even hurt…'_

"_Well now, have you gotten that out of your system?" He grinned. "As I said, you can't hurt me… " He reached under the bench and pulled out a struggling 18. "But I can hurt you!" He gripped her throat and applied slight pressure_

"_NO!" Krillin flung himself forward again. "YOU DON'T TOUCH-"_

_A simple squeeze was all it took. Krillin froze and fell to the floor as he watched Cell drop 18's lifeless body to the floor._

"_N-no… You… you took her away… again." Tears began to fall freely down a face void of expression. "I… I…"_

_Cell's laughter echoed through his mind. "That's right, little fool. You couldn't save her- AGAIN!" The laugh grew in intensity. "You are the most pathetic excuse for a human being that I've ever seen!"_

_Krillin's brain suddenly felt like it was going to explode. With each laugh, he felt the pain increasing as he clutched at his head, screaming. "STOP! STOP IT NOW!!" He jumped to his feet. "STOP IT NOW!!!" He raised a hand and began concentrating his energy._

_Cell picked up 18's body and began dangling it in front of him. "'Oh save me! Help me, hero!' Well, go on, save her, you pathetic fool!"_

_Krillin thrust his hand forward and a huge beam of blue energy flew toward Cell. "STOOOOP IT!!!!!"_

_The beam enveloped his target in a blinding flash of blue and Krillin was forced to avert his eyes. When the light died down, he opened his eyes to see a large crater where Cell used to be. Krillin gripped his head as he ran; with any luck, he'd at least hurt that monster…_

_He skidded to a halt at the edge of the crater and dropped to his knees at the sight. He'd hit his target, alright, and left a big gaping hole in his chest… but, it wasn't Cell…_

"_G-Goku… GOKU!!!!"_

* * *

Krillin threw himself up off the couch and tried to get an idea of where he was. 'Chi-Chi's house, I'm at… Oh God, no.' He flung himself toward the door but was intercepted by a pair of strong arms. He tried to struggle, to break free. He couldn't face Chi-Chi, not now. "Let me go!" he sobbed. "I can't be here! I killed him! I can't stay.."

"Calm down!" a familiar voice ordered. "There's nothing wrong, just calm down! You're okay now."

Krillin stopped struggling and looked at his captor.

"18? Is… are you… you're alive…" He hung his head as he began to cry.

"What happened?" she asked him. "Tell me."

Krillin managed to look up into her eyes. "Cell… came back… he made me watch… he killed you…" He broke down sobbing again.

Chi-Chi ran into the kitchen. "Hang on, I'll get him some water."

18 held him close. "It's okay now. Just a dream, okay? Calm down…"

"You don't understand… he made me kill him… for you…"

18 looked into his eyes. "Kill who?"

Chi-Chi returned, glass of water in hand.

Krillin broke through his sobs long enough to choke out, "My brother…" His eyes became intense.

"I killed Goku… for _you_."

The house was silent but for the sound of shattering glass

* * *

_Well, that's it for this go-round. Hope it was worth the wait. Lemme know what you guys thought, okay? And if you have any questions, feel free to ask, I don't mind handing out spoilers. See Ya!_


	21. Chapter 21

**One Good Reason**

_So… yeah. Real life happened. And explain it all later, I shall. For now, however, let's get to the story, shall we. Gonna be a little short, since I'm writing during one of my few breaks, but at least it'll help take us off the mini-cliffhanger, eh? Heeeeere we goooo!_

* * *

**Chapter 21**

Krillin sat on the couch, his face resting in the palm of his hand, face red with embarrassment. The little house was silent save for the sound of a broom sweeping up glass and the soft chirping of the crickets outside the window, which did little to help make the situation less awkward. He could feel Chi-Chi's hand still rubbing his back, her mutterings of it being okay, that it wasn't his fault… things they'd already discussed before not so long ago.

18 was finishing sweeping up the last of the glass on the floor, occasionally darting her eyes up to stare at the two on the couch. Something about the sight rubbed her the wrong way, the way she sat there coddling him, reassuring him that he was safe. 18 wished she could dismiss it as something maternal, but there was something in the other woman's eyes that seemed to hold… something she couldn't quite define.

But she most certainly didn't like it.

Krillin sat on the worn couch, his still aching head resting in his hands as Chi-Chi tried to console him. This wasn't making any sense; those dreams had been more and more infrequent and yet each time he woke up, his head pounded harder than before, as if they were somehow directly tied to his mind. He'd have to make a mental note to ask around about this. He couldn't be the only one to experience this phenomenon, surely.

"… not your fault, alright? Goku made a hard choice that he thought was best for everyone, and that's that." Chi-Chi's soft, reassuring voice and the gentle rub of a hand on his shoulder stirred Krillin back to reality as the pain slowly began creeping away. He managed a weak smile.\

"Yeah, yeah, I know. We already had this talk, remember?" He cleared his throat. I'll be fine. Just a nightmare is all. Can't really control what you dream, can you?"

"Actually…" The couch's occupants looked into the kitchen to see a very tired Android 18 standing in the kitchen, broom in hand. "It's been a working theory for a while now that dreams can be influenced consciously by the dreamer. Just take a lot of will and concentration, and the proper environment to focus."

Krillin whistled. "Wooow. Where'd you learn that from?" 18 smiled with what seemed to him to be genuine pride. "Hey, I'm no simpleton. I'm capable of learning. And not all the old man's magazines contain naked girls, you know."

Chi-Chi raised an eyebrow. "Roshi? What's he doing with a magazine like that?"

Krillin hung his head. "Knowing Master Roshi's mind, I'm relatively certain that he doesn't merely have the intention of upping his IQ". He yawned and stretched. "And speaking of, I guess we better try to head back, huh? No sense in keeping you up so late, Chi-Chi. Can't be good for the baby and all…"

The pregnant woman tapped two fingers together lightly. "Well actually, it's late enough that maybe you two better stay the night here. I have a spare futon that I can lay out for your lady friend." Chi-Chi looked over at 18, whose eyes were only half open. "If that's okay with you, of course."

The blonde merely nodded her head weakly and yawned. As Chi-Chi slowly stood to get the futon, 18 drug herself into the living room and was greeted by a sly smile from the little man on the couch. "What's so funny?" she demanded.

Krillin chuckled. 'You look like you're about to pass out is all." An angry growl from the blonde only made him smile more. "So much for that 'unlimited energy supply, eh?"

18 shakily pointed a finger at him. "Listen, just because I require sleep doesn't mean I can't still kick your butt while doing so, got it?"

Her angry tone normally would have been quite unnerving had it not been for the slight quivering smile she tried to hide from the corner of her mouth. Krillin's smile changed into an all-out grin. 'I do love it when she gets playful,' He thought to himself. "Well tired or not, it was really nice of you to clean that mess up for Chi-Chi like that."

18 waved a hand in the air dismissively. "Yeah, well… she's got the whole 'baby' thing going on. Couldn't make her do it, right?" he began fidgeting with the sleeve of her jacket. "Plus well… y'know. What I did here last time."

"You know," Krillin offered softly, "you can apologize. Chi-Chi may seem kinda stand-offish, but she's not unforgiving."

"Yeah well... I'll think about it." She replied before turning her back on him completely, just in time to see Chi-Chi coming in with the futon.

"Now I know this isn't the most comfortable thing in the world," the woman said, laying the thin mat out on the floor, 'but it'll get the job done. Besides, you're a pretty… tough young lady. I'm sure you can handle it, right?"

Krillin stood up. "Nah, Chi-Chi. I'll be taking that one, if you don't mind." Both women turned toward him, slightly shocked. "Are you sure about that?" Chi-Chi asked.

"Yeah. I didn't wanna say anything, but that couch isn't too comfortable to sleep on. For me at least. I'm used to a mattress on the floor." He rubbed the back of his neck and grinned that big, dopey grin. "Besides… rude to make a lady sleep on the floor, right? I'm sure she can handle it, but y'know… honor thing, martial arts, you get the idea. Heh."

Chi-Chi smiled softly. "I see. Well, if that's the way you want it, that's alright by me." She moved toward the stairs. "I'll just leave you two to position that wherever you want. Goodnight."

"Night Chi-Chi," Krillin called after her, "and thanks." He turned to see 18 already laying on the couch, a bemused smile playing at her lips. "What?" he asked.

"My my, you've gotten smooth," she practically purred at him. "Playing the gentleman while trying to avoid making me feel like the helpless lady, eh? Clever."

Krillin's face turned beet read. "Well uh… I- er… It kinda IS an honor thing, and…"

18 chuckled. "Hmm, well it was sweet of you." She motioned toward the futon. What say you drag that thing a little more this way." Krillin shrugged and complied, dragging it close to the couch. "Any particular reason why?"

She reached out and stroked his cheek. "Let's just say I want you… close," she purred out in a low sultry tone, fighting back laughter as her little man nearly fainted in ecstasy. "Now c'mon, get your mind out of the gutter and go to sleep, you goon."

"Y-yes ma'am." Krillin sat down on the futon and stretched himself out. "G'night."

18 closed her eyes and laid in the silence, slowly drifting off to sleep. Just as she was about to finally drift off, she felt something grasp her hand. Raising her head slightly, she saw a calloused, slightly scarred hand lightly holding onto hers. Gently she began caressing it with her thumb, a genuinely happy smile gracing her features as she laid her head back down to rest.

"G'night, twerp…"

* * *

High up on the Lookout, winds were howling as Dende peered off into the night sky, flanked by the stoic figure of Piccolo, cape flapping in the wind as he observed the young one taking on one of his many responsibilities as the new Guardian; overseeing the affairs of the world. The kid was a fast learner, he had to admit, but sometimes had a bad habit of overlooking small problems without using his foresight. Never one to let an opportunity to correct someone's mistakes slip by, Piccolo was now having him scan for what seemed a small disturbance.

'C'mon kid. Focus. Find the trouble and see what it'll lead to...'

Dende let out a loud gasp and stepped back from the edge of the platform. "Gosh, Mr. Piccolo… you were right. Something bad is about to happen."

Piccolo cocked his head to look at the smaller Namekian. "Good, you saw it too. If this keeps up we could be in for some trouble."

Dende clutched at his pounding heart, his breathing heavy. The look on his face caused even Piccolo's eyes to widen in shock. "All due respect, but… we're in for more than trouble. More than you can possibly know."

* * *

_And there you have it! I have updated, and shall do my best to do so as often as possible. The writing bug has returned, folks, and I plan to do something with it. In the meantime, I hope you enjoyed. Reviews are much appreciated, as I always love Feedback._

_Also, Dragon Ball Z Kai FTW! lol Nice to see them correct some errors from last time around. Anyways, see ya._


	22. Chapter 22

**One Good Reason**

_Well, it has indeed been a while, has it not? I think I've kept you all waiting far too long. And so, we press onward! ONWARD… into a mediocre fanfic. …Oh well, regardless of that, here's hoping you enjoy!_

* * *

**Chapter 22**

Krillin stared into the bathroom mirror, eyes narrowed to a slit. Morning light had just begun to peek into the house on Mt. Paozu when he had begun to stir, and he had hoped for at least another hour's sleep. But between his bladder and a rather pesky ray of sun that had somehow found a way to shine right into his face no matter how he turned, it was not meant to be.

'Great. I get to be the first person awake in someone else's home. Love all the awkward silence that comes with that.' He started back to the living room, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. 'Suppose I could always go outside and get some exercise.' He peeked at the frost-covered window and shuddered. 'Then again, maybe I'll wait until it warms up a bit…' He peeked over at the couch and 18's still-sleeping form and smiled. 'Guess I shouldn't wake her up yet either.' He gently brushed a few strands of hair from her face and sighed a bit. Even while in a deep sleep she seemed flawless, her always lovely face now the very picture of serenity. 'Seeing her first thing when I wake up… a guy could get used to this pretty quick…'

_BANG!_

Krillin felt his heart hit his throat as he literally jumped in fear at the sound emanating from the kitchen. He put a hand over his pounding heart and turned quickly to find… a very apologetic Chi-Chi filling a pot in the sink with water. "Oh my, I'm sorry! Didn't mean to startle you." She gave a small embarrassed laugh. "Was just trying to fill this up with water and… well, it slipped." She motioned toward the table. "Would you like to have a seat?"

Krillin swallowed the lump that had built in his throat and nodded. "Sure." As he entered the kitchen area, he noticed that Chi-Chi had been preparing a full breakfast that was nearly done. "Holy cow, how long were you in here and I didn't even notice?"

"Oh, not long…" Chi-Chi said with a slight crack in her voice. "Just fifteen minutes or so." She quickly readjusted her robe and placed the pot of water onto the stove.

Krillin slid into a chair at the end of the table. "You did all this in fifteen minutes? Wow, I must've been really out of it when I went to the-" he froze. "Oh boy…" He shakily looked over his shoulder and saw that there was a perfect view into the bathroom. The same bathroom he'd just been using. With the door left wide open. "Ohboyohboyohboy… "

Chi-Chi grimaced a bit. "Heh… yeah. You um, may have given a rather unintentional show."

"…"

"Um… you have nice aim for someone who just woke up?"

Krillin buried his beet red face in his palms. "Well this didn't just get awkward at all."

Chi-Chi sat at the table across from him. "Oh that's nothing. You should see some of the things Gohan does when he's waking up. The boy ate a rock for breakfast once."

Krillin perked his head up slightly. "Wait, you mean like… successfully?"

"Yep"

"How'd his stomach take that one?"

Chi-Chi raised her finger. "Surprisingly well. Apparently a Saiyan's stomach can handle things normal folks can't."

Krillin laughed. "Well that would explain a few things about some of what Goku ate back in the day." His face immediately went blank. "Oh wow. I'm sorry…"

Chi-Chi smiled sadly, looking down at the table. "No, it's alright. Not like we can pretend he never existed, can we? Besides, it's nice to remember the good times people had with him. Kind of makes it easier to take, I guess."

A muffled groan captured their attention and both turned to see an extremely groggy 18 pull herself off the couch and stumble toward the kitchen. Chi-Chi stood and headed for the counter. "I'll get her some coffee. Something tells me she's not a morning person."

18 plopped herself into the chair next to Krillin's and muttered what he assumed was some sort of greeting before resting her forehead on the table before her. "So…" he asked her slowly. "How'd you sleep"

"Ffn."

"Good, good. So… first time I've been awake before you. Not much for mornings, are you?"

She lifted her head and looked at him through barely open eyes. "What do you think?" Krillin had o resist a chuckle as a few strands of her hair fell in her face and she tried in vain to blow them away.

He reached over and tucked it back behind her ear for her. "Well for what it's worth, ya look nice."

She weakly pointed a finger at him. "For that, you live." She focused her barely open eyes on the cup Chi-Chi placed in front of her. "What's this?"

"Coffee." The pregnant woman said, smiling at her. "It'll help you wake up a bit more. Though I wasn't sure what to put in it, so it's black for the moment. Do you have a preference"

18 eyed the cup for a moment before reaching out and downing it in a single gulp. "Yes. Larger cups." She held it out to Chi-Chi. "More please." Chi-Chi laughed lightly and left to get more.

"Oh, before I forget," she called over her shoulder, "I have some errands to run today and I was wondering if maybe you'd be willing to come with. I'd ask Gohan to help but he already left to spend the day with Piccolo. That boy is up with the sun these days, it's amazing.. Before I could never get him up."

Krillin smiled. "Sure, I'd love to come with." He looked to 18. "Did you wanna come too?"

18 picked her head up from the table once again. "Iunno. What are these 'errands' and where would they be located?"

Chi-Chi set another cup and the full pot of coffee on the table. "Oh just to the city to visit the mall. Need to pick up some clothes and then a little food."

18 looked from the pot to the cup and back again. "Gimme five minutes" she said before grabbing the whole pot and heading into the bathroom. "And this."

* * *

It stirred.

An unknown creature lay in wait in the underbrush, breathing lightly, trying hard to avoid detection. It stalked its prey, desperately trying to understand the constant stream of words running through its mind.

_Kill… destroy… revenge… must die…_

It was at least clearer than it had been before he changed, writhing in constant agony, hearing only the order to kill. Now he at least knew a new word. Revenge. Motivation at least, even if he didn't know who it was for, or why. But he didn't need to know. He needed purpose. He needed a REASON to exist, a reason to fight through the pain and survive. Motivation to keep himself focused. Motivation to live.

It was not lost on him that his motivation to live was for others to die. He grasped the irony well enough. But now it did not matter. Now all that needed to happen was for him to strike.

He sensed his targets getting nearer- a nice little family. Woman, man, their little daughter. Easy kills. One step closer to the truth of his purpose.

He coiled and prepared to strike. 

* * *

Dende dropped his staff in horror and ran from the edge of the Lookout to where his guests were coversing. "Mr. Piccolo! That presence we sensed earlier! It's back!"

Piccolo whipped off his turban and cloak. "Alright, I'm going after it! Gohan, you're with me! Stay close! We need to crush this thing _now_, understand!"

Gohan nodded silently and blasted off behind his master toward the source of this mysterious presence… whatever it might be. 

* * *

"So they have clothing stores specifically for pregnant people?" 18 asked as she walked beside Chi-Chi.

"Yes. Maternity clothes. They're specially made with a pregnancy shape in mind so that they still fit elsewhere instead of just being giant baggy sacks we have to sit in. I used to have some but I gave them away-"

Krillin sighed as he walked silently behind the two. 'This is going to be a long day…' He stopped in his tracks as the hairs on his neck stood straight up. He turned to look off into the east, and a faint buzzing tingled in the back of his mind. He sensed… something. Something that he couldn't identify. But just as quickly as it had appeared, it was gone.

'That's weird,' he thought. 'Wonder who the heck that was..?' he moved quickly to catch up to the ladies entering the mall. 'Well whatever it was, it's gone now.'

Piccolo stomped his foot in anger. "DAMMIT ALL! We were too late! Whatever that thing was is gone now."

Gohan kneeled on the ground, cradling a torn bloodied teddy bear. "I-I don't… what kind of creature would do this? I mean, there aren't even any remains. No clothes either. Nothing. What sort of monster does this?"

Piccolo sighed. "I dunno kid. But we better hope that we can find it soon, or else we're gonna have a lot more scenes like this again. And a lot more trouble than we bargained for."

* * *

_And there you have it, an update! Finally. Now just so you know, I may be going back and revising this story in a few chapters. Just some stuff I don't think jives too well and a plot point or two that I may have abandoned. So keep an eye out for all that, eh?_

_See Ya!_


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